


Cupid's Angel

by sandys18



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angels, Cupid - Freeform, F/M, Humor, Romance, Romantic Comedy, contains attempted rape /nothing graphic/ no details/doesn't go anywhere disturbing, just a little angst in the future, just thought it's better to put a warning, lots of fluff, soulmate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2018-02-19 14:01:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 119,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2390954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandys18/pseuds/sandys18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Please… Please let this work just once." Felicity prayed as she hovered above the little burger joint.</p><p>She was waiting for 'Dinah Laurel Lance', her new 'client' to come out of the diner. So that, she could shoot an Arrow through her heart. Not to kill her, but to make her fall in love with the man she was destined to be with. Because, Felicity was one of Cupid's angels and helping people find their soul mates was her job. It wasn't an easy job as some would think. Especially, when one's aim was as bad as hers.</p><p>The truth was, she never really wanted to work for Cupid. All she ever wanted to be was a Tooth Fairy. Even though Felicity was notorious for having bad aim, for some unexplainable reason it was decided that she should be one of Cupid's helpers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU (Olicity Fic):  
> Felicity is one of Cupid's angels. Her job is to bring Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance together. But she's not good at her job as she would like to be. In this AU Oliver has gone through the whole island thing and he's just starting off at the vigilante. (So the story is at the beginning of season 1). 
> 
> The history between Laurel and Oliver is the same. The main difference is Felicity is one of Cupid's Angels.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or any characters or any other familiar thing you might notice in this story. But, the plot is mine. Please don't post this anywhere without permission. And this story is only available in this site and on fanfiction.net and The Polish Translation is available on http://arrow-olicity.blogspot.com/p/cupids-angel.html (Translated by Justine W. Lucy)
> 
> And thanks to Amy2468 for betaing the first chapter

**Chapter 1**

"Please… Please let this work just once." Felicity prayed as she hovered above the little burger joint.

She was waiting for 'Dinah Laurel Lance', her new 'client' to come out of the diner. So that, she could shoot an Arrow through her heart. Not to kill her, but to make her fall in love with the man she was destined to be with. Because, Felicity was one of Cupid's angels and helping people find their soul mates was her job. It wasn't an easy job as some would think. Especially, when one's aim was as bad as hers.

The truth was, she never really wanted to work for Cupid. All she ever wanted to be was a Tooth Fairy. Even though Felicity was notorious for having bad aim, for some unexplainable reason it was decided that she should be one of Cupid's helpers.

The wings were not bad. They may not have been as pretty as those of a Tooth Fairy, but they did let her fly higher and faster than any Tooth Fairy ever could.

Tonight, she was about to take on her seventh assignment. None of her previous assignments had worked out as exactly as she had planned. It wasn't her fault that people didn't stay still until she shot her arrows. Unfortunately, all those little details didn't matter to her boss, 'The Cupid'. He said he had given her one too many chances and 'Dinah Laurel Lance' he said maybe her last client, if she didn't succeed. In other words, there was a high probability of her losing her precious wings forever.

If that very unfortunate series of events truly were to happen, her last resort would be to become a plain old boring elf, and she really didn't want to even picture herself with those pointy ears.

Therefore, she was now eagerly waiting for Miss Lance to come out and meet 'Oliver Jonas Queen', her soulmate.

She had done her homework on Laurel and had already made all the arrangements. Now all that needed to happen was Laurel to exit the diner just as Oliver was about to enter.

She saw a limo stop in front of the diner.

She got down to the rooftop of the building that stood across the street.

Thelimo driver got out from the limousine and opened the door for his boss.

Oliver Jonas Queen stepped out of the vehicle buttoning his coat. Felicity had only seen a picture of the man until that moment, but even then she had found herself rather intrigued by him. Now, seeing him in the flesh for the first time, she felt something she couldn't really name. A strange flutter, a tingle she hadn't ever felt before.

As if he too had sensed her presence he turned around and looked up.

She knew it was impossible for him to see her since the rooftop had no lights and she was hiding behind the shadows. Yet for a moment she felt like he was looking directly at her.

She quickly ducked behind the little railing there and secretly watched him.

When he eventually turned back around Felicity got into position. She readied her invisible bow and arrow and waited for that perfect moment.

A moment not too soon, she saw Laurel making her way towards the door. The two soul mates seemed to have seen each other through the glass door and a smile graced both their faces at the same time.

Felicity pulled the arrow back.

She just needed Laurel to come out from behind the door.

Finally as the door completely opened and when Laurel Lance came into her range Felicity let the arrow go.

She squealed in joy watching the arrow fly off. This time it was going straight towards her target and for once, the target didn't look like she was about to make any sudden movements.

Unfortunately, her happiness was short lived. Some crazy woman on a bicycle came between Laurel and the speeding arrow. Felicity could do nothing but watch the woman in the bicycle get hit by the arrow and coincidentally collide into a lamppost.

A police officer who had been standing nearby ran to the woman's rescue. Laurel and Oliver on the other hand, seemed all too engrossed in their little conversation to even notice anything that was happening around them.

"So you missed again?" A man said from behind.

Felicity turned to the voice and found her boss. "That woman got in the way!" She complained.

His piercing blue eyes stared at her. "I've already given you enough chances."

It was true. No one had ever heard of Cupid giving anyone this many chances. "But… it's not fair." She continued to protest. "I didn't even want to do this. I wanted to be a tooth fairy. Why couldn't they just let me be a tooth fairy?" She whined pouting her lips.

"I think it had something to do with you being too clumsy for the job. They were afraid you would wake the children up before taking the tooth from under their pillows." Cupid came closer to the brick railing and looked down at the street. "Ah what a mess you've made of everything Felicity. I'll have to call in the emergency team again to clean this mess up."

She too looked down at the 'mess' he was referring to and frowned. Oliver and Laurel had already left. The only one left were the woman on the bike, who was now clinging to the police officer's hand. "At least that woman found someone to love."

"That would have been alright if she wasn't already married to her soulmate." Cupid snarled.

"It's not my fault you chose someone like me, who has very bad aim to shoot arrows at people." She didn't mean to say it out loud, but she had.

Cupid raised a brow. "So now you're blaming it on me? Because I gave you a chance? Because I thought you were too cute to be an elf?"

"You gave me a chance because you thought I was cute?" She smiled playfully.

"Cute is important in the line of work we do." He said putting on a very serious tone. "Enough about that! It's time for you to hand over your wings, and the bow and arrows."

"Please… please I'll do anything, but don't take my wings away." She begged.

"No Felicity, I've given you too many chances." He stretched his hand towards her, asking her to turn in her wings.

"Please give me one more chance. I promise I won't mess it up. I'll work on my shooting more. I will come up with better plans… And make sure that there are no crazy women on bicycles, the next time." She pleaded clasping her hands together.

"Ahh! Stop with the puppy dog eyes! I'll give you one more chance. But if you mess this up…" He looked at her warningly.

"I won't!" She promised.

He sat on the railing with his back facing the street. "Ok then…" He ran a hand through his curly blonde hair. "I'll give you a new task to prove yourself."

She nodded. She was willing to accept any form of task. She would do anything to not to have those elf ears and to wear those green hats.

"You'll have to make Laurel Lance fall in love with Oliver Queen." He began to explain. "But you can't use any magic arrows."

She stared at him confused. "How do I make that happen without using arrows?"

"Laurel Lance already loves Oliver Queen. The only reason you were asked to shoot that arrow was, because there were so many obstacles keeping them apart. You see, Oliver Queen hasn't always been the best of guys. So, Laurel needed a bit of divine intervention to realize that he is a changed man. And to realize they are meant to be together." He got up onto the railing with a childish grin on his face.

"Ok?" She uttered feeling as confused as ever.

Cupid began to pace back and forth on the railing, spreading his hands to balance himself. "Oliver believes that Laurel doesn't love him anymore. So, part of your job would be to show Oliver that Laurel still loves him and he deserves her. More importantly, you will have to help him convince Laurel that he has changed and that he truly loves her. Oliver Queen hasn't been the most expressive guy after his little trip from Lian yu, so you'll have your work cut out for you."

"But how do I do all that?" Whatever she was beginning to understand of the task didn't sound at all easy.

"You'll figure it out." He smirked as he jumped down to stand in front of her.

"But…"She didn't like that glint of mischief she caught in his eyes.

"Come!" He spread his glorious wings and gave her his hand.

"Where?" She asked spreading her own little pair of wings.

He didn't reply. He simply caught her hand and flew off with her.

There were only stars above them. She could feel the cool clouds beneath her tickle her feet as they gently moved along with the night wind.

They have been flying for a while now and he hadn't yet revealed where they were going.

"It's time." Her boss announced all of a sudden.

"Time for what?" She prompted turning towards him.

"Good bye Felicity!" He swiftly took her bow and quiver and stripped her of her wings. "You'll have three months to finish the task!"

"No! Please I need my wings!" She screamed as she began to fall. They were miles above ground. There was nothing for her to hang onto or to break her fall. She wasn't human and knew she wouldn't die, but that didn't mean she wasn't scared.

"And one more thing Felicity, couple of minutes after you touch the ground, you'll become a human!" She heard him shout.

"I would rather become an elf!" She yelled back sinking into the clouds.

"Good Luck!" She heard Cupid's wings flutter as he flew away.

She kept falling for what felt like for an eternity.

She could now scarcely make out the ground below. The city lights began to twinkle below her like fallen stars. Every blurry outline and plane she saw while ago, gradually transformed into buildings, streets and trees.

She shut her eyes anticipating the crash.

Not a second later, she met the ground with a thud. She may not have died, but it hurt as if she had.

She just laid there on her stomach trying to grasp what had happened.

She heard tyres screech along the asphalt floor and come to a stop. "Are you alright?" A deep voice asked.

"I think so." She mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes.

"We might need to take you to a hospital." The man said, kneeling down next to her.

"No!" She looked up and saw a hooded man.

"But… " He brushed her hair to the side. His face was hidden in the shadows formed by the hood he wore over his head. But somehow, she recognized who he was. 

"Oliver Jonas Queen?"

He pulled his hood back. Something green was smeared across his eyes as if to conceal his identity. "How do you… Who are you?" He seemed rather taken aback.

"Felicity…" She began to shiver. She had never shivered before. Angel's didn't do that. She could feel something inside of her change and Cupid's last words came to her mind.

"How could he do this to me?" She felt some water like liquid rundown her cheek. She realized she was crying and the realization only made her cry more.

Oliver rolled her around to her back. "Who did what to you?"

"Cupid... he sent me here." She blurted without thinking.

He looked around in panic. "Who's Cupid? Is that some kind of a code name? Who are you working for?" He grilled her.

She was in no state to even think about answering any of those questions.

As an Angel, she could see and hear things. She was able to touch and feel things, but she was beginning to learn the way humans feel was completely different than she had thought. Her sensory system seemed as if it was going into some kind of an overdrive. Every sound, smell, image became too much to endure. "So this is what it feels like." She muttered to herself.

She felt nauseated by all the foreign emotions and thoughts that flooded her.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" He asked.

Her head began to spin. She found it difficult to focus on Oliver's face. "Felicity….." She managed to answer before dozing off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and comments...  
> Thanks so much to Amy2468 for going over this chapter.

"She just fell out of nowhere Dig." A male voice was explaining. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but Felicity couldn't really put a face to the voice. She wanted to open her eyes and see who the voice belonged to, but she would get a massive headache every time she tried.

"And you thought the best thing to do is to bring her here?" A second voice asked.

"She knows who I am, so I didn't have a choice! And she said someone called, 'Cupid' is involved." The familiar voice claimed. From the gist of the conversation she had overheard she was convinced the voice must belong to Oliver. Yet she couldn't understand why he sounded so different to before. Or was it someone else?

"I think she's waking up." The other voice was now approaching her.

This time with a little more effort, she was able to peel her eyes open. The first thing that caught her eye was a large man hovering over the foot of the steel bed she was lying on. Her first instinct was to run, but something in the giant like man's eyes assured her he could be trusted. "Who are you?"

"First tell us who you are?" It indeed had been Oliver Jonas Queen's voice. He was now standing next to his friend and his hood and the green paint was gone. Instead, his face was darkened by the frightening scowl he bore.

Nevertheless, Felicity was elated to see him. He was her ticket home after all. "Oliver!" She sat up and her head began to spin. She quickly caught the edge of the bed to steady herself.

Oliver came around the bed to stand closer to her. "Who are you? Who's Cupid?" He ground out.

A fast thumping sound arose from inside of her. She felt it may any moment tear her chest apart. Her hands went to her chest. "What's that?" She was both terrified and excited to hear the mysterious sound.

"What's what?" Oliver snapped.

The sound only got worse at his voice. "Here." She pointed at her chest with her eyes. It took a moment for her to realize where the sound maybe coming from. "I think it's my heart. It's beating fast. It started to beat faster when you were talking…" She had heard of humans having beating hearts, but she had no idea it would ever be so loud and wild.

The large man drew Oliver to the side. "Oliver, maybe she's one of your crazy stalker fan girls." He suggested.

As Felicity stared at the unknown man, trying to understand what 'Crazy stalker fan girls' stood for, she suddenly realized that he was actually Oliver's driver, who had dropped him off in front of 'Big Belly Burger'.

Oliver glanced back at her. His eyes raked over her for a moment and gave her a disapproving glare as if he found something very odd about her clothes. "Well, that might actually explain what she said about 'Cupid' sending her here."

She gazed down at her long white gown and her gold slippers. It was her uniform. All of Cupid's angels were required to wear it. "My name is Felicity and I'm not a stalker fan girl… whatever that is." She hopped down from the steel bed. "It's just all of this… it's very new to me." In spite of feeling more than a little light headed and off balance she slowly approached them.

"What do you mean it's new to you?" Oliver stepped towards her, his brows knitted together.

She thought about it for a moment. She thought about what she should say and how she should say it. She wasn't even sure if she was supposed to tell anything at all. There was a little rule book given to her when she was first designated as an Angel, but it never said anything about, what to do or not to do if she were ever to turn human. Therefore, she opted to tell the truth. "I'm an angel. I'm not now… I was one, but now I'm human. Like you…" She said desperately hoping that they would believe her and in turn, help her complete her task.

"You sure you didn't hit your head, when you fell down from where ever you fell down from?" The driver mocked.

"No! I'm here to help Oliver find his soulmate." She protested as she strolled towards the two men. "I mean, to get him back together with her. It's a kind of a long story… maybe not that long really."

"Stop wasting my time and just tell us the truth!" With one more stride, Oliver came to tower over her.

She stood stunned by his daring blue eyes. The smell of him, which she could only describe as musky and leather, made her want to step even closer to him. Yet surprisingly, she only managed to move two steps to her left. She tripped over something and somehow ended up seated in the chair set in front of the computers. "I didn't hit my head and I'm telling you the truth." She got to her feet shooting Oliver a glare.

Oliver looked back at his friend for his thoughts. "Diggle?"

"Well at least she doesn't look like a hardened criminal." Diggle passed a gentle smile Felicity's way.

Felicity beamed back at him in response. She was happy that at least one of them wasn't looking at her as if she was some kind of a spy.

"And I'm supposed to be a billionaire playboy and you his driver. Looks can be deceiving Dig. Anyway, whoever she is, we can't just let her go. How do we know she won't tell anyone that I'm the vigilante?" Oliver pointed out.

Felicity frowned at the way Oliver was talking about her as if she wasn't even there. "She won't!" She replied crossly. She was only there to get him together with Laurel. She had no intention of telling anyone about whatever the 'vigilante business' he was talking about.

"I can't let you go just because you say you won't tell anyone." Oliver circled her with his hawk like gaze, scrutinizing her every little movement.

"It's almost midnight now, Oliver. What are you going to do? Interrogate the poor girl the whole night? Keep her a prisoner here?" Diggle leaned back on to the table behind him as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

Felicity for the first time cast her eyes on her surroundings. It was a dark, gloomy place without any windows. There was a chill about the room that made her wrap her arms around herself. She really didn't wish to stay a prisoner there. "It is kind of cold in here. Where is here anyway?" She muttered putting up an innocent front.

Diggle scanned her head to toe once again. "If you ask me Oliver, I still think she's one of Oliver Queen's groupies."

Felicity wasn't sure what the term 'Oliver Queen's groupie' meant, but she didn't like the sound of it.

Oliver stopped moving and stared at her for a moment. The longer he stared softer his eyes became. "We'll decide what we're going to do with her tomorrow. I'll take her home with me tonight. I don't think it's the best idea, but it's the only one I got for now." He looked to his friend for his approval.

Felicity's eyes brightened at the prospect. In order for her to succeed at her task, she needed to be close to him. She needed to know more about him. Whatever she knew about him was from the case file she got when she was assigned to 'Laurel Lance'. It contained just one page with a couple of paragraphs about Oliver Queen. Other than some basic information, plus bit of information about Oliver being stranded in some island and 'Big Belly Burger' being his favourite dining spot, she knew nothing much about the man. Certainly, she had no idea that he went around in a green suit talking in some strange voice.

"I guess it's better than keeping her a prisoner here." Diggle agreed as he reached for his coat lying on the table.

Few minutes later, they led Felicity out of their 'secret hideout' blind folded. Oliver sat her in some kind of a vehicle and he didn't take the blind fold off of her for another fifteen minutes or so.

"This is the first time I'm riding in a limo… or any kind of man made vehicle really." She played with the buttons on the side of her seat. She could see Diggle smile from the rear view mirror as she made the little screen between them go up and down.

Oliver said nothing. He just let out a frustrated breath.

She looked out from the window and saw that they are approaching what looked like a mansion.

The limo slowly came to a standstill. "I'll see you two tomorrow then." Diggle said.

Oliver got out first and helped Felicity out. She looked about in wonderment. The mansion looked too divine to be a place that belonged on Earth.

"Good luck man." She heard Diggle say before he drove off.

Oliver led her inside his home and guided her towards a staircase. "My mother is out of town and Thea… my sister… she must be asleep now. So try not to make any noise." He advised.

"Ok." She whispered as she tiptoed up the stairs. She couldn't see much in the dim light, but whatever she could see of the interior, it looked quite exquisite and elegant. The grand chandelier above them sparkled even in the little light and it made a magical twinkling noise as it slowly swayed back and forth to the bit of wind coming in from a slightly opened window.

Oliver guided her through a long corridor and stopped to open a massive door.

He then dragged her inside the room and turned the lights on.

Felicity looked about spinning in one spot. The room was spacious, but lonely. A bed stood right in the middle and it looked large enough to fit five to six people.

"You'll have to stay in my room with me for the night." He began to rummage through his closet. "The bathroom is onto your right." He threw some clothes at her face and she barely managed to catch it.

She carefully examined the clothes in her hand and realized he had thrown her a grey T-shirt and a pair of shorts. "What's this?"

"I thought you might want to change out of that thing into something more comfortable." He gestured at her dress.

"Oh?" She peeked at the t-shirt and the short again. They seemed too big for her and not to mention the color was as dull as the paint on the bedroom wall.

"I would have gotten you something from Thea's room. But, if she wakes up, she'll want to know everything." He took his coat off and turned his back to her to hang it on the chair behind him.

She shrugged and thought she would just try the clothes.

After placing the t-shirt and the shorts on the edge of the bed, she dropped the straps of her dress off her shoulders.

When she lifted her head, she saw a panic stricken Oliver dart towards her. "No… No! Not in here… in the there!" He picked up the clothes he had given her earlier and shoved it into her hands.

He then quickly put the fallen straps back onto her shoulders. His rough fingers grazed her skin ever so slightly and her heart started to pound erratically as if on cue. Some electric kind of feeling that ran down her spine made her shudder, and she suddenly became aware of herself, her own body.

"Go in there and change." He steered her towards the door on her right.

"I will do that… yes… I should change in there… not here… not in front of you. Obviously…" She babbled senselessly as she wandered into the bathroom.

He slammed the bathroom door shut the moment she stepped in.

She took her dress and the slippers off. Still her heart didn't seem as if it was going to calm down any time soon. She caught her reflection on the mirror and stared at her very red face.

Her hand automatically ran to her cheeks that burnt as if she had just walked through a blazing fire.

She shook her head to get rid of the bizarre human feelings and took couple of deep breaths to calm herself down.

Then she finally tried the T-shirt on. It was too big as expected and it fell off her shoulder on one side. The shorts didn't fit either but it settled very loosely on her hips. But the t-shirt was long enough to almost completely cover the existence of the shorts.

Tugging at the oversized t-shirt she nervously stepped out of the bathroom.

"Diggle, I think you might be right … She does act like one of Oliver Queen's groupies." Oliver was talking on the phone and he hadn't yet realized she was there. He was pacing back and forth, as he unbuttoned his shirt. "But what I want to know is how she found out that the vigilante is actually Oliver Queen."

She tilted her head and wondered why he kept referring to himself in the third person.

"I know Dig but…" He halted mid-sentence as he finally turned around and caught her standing behind him. The way his eyes suddenly got darker frightened Felicity and she began to fix her t-shirt feeling exposed.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." Oliver bit on his lower lip as he hung up the phone and put it on top of a drawer.

Felicity couldn't quite see what it was, but she saw him take something out of his coat which he had draped over the chair. She gazed in curiosity as he came towards her with one hand behind his back.

He quickly grabbed her right wrist and hand cuffed her.

"What's this for?" She glared at the silver cuff around her wrist.

"To make sure you don't run away after I fall asleep." He dragged her away closer to the bed.

She tried wriggle and pull away, but he already had the other end of the handcuff attached to the frame of the bed. "I don't know much about human law… actually I don't know anything about that… but I'm guessing this has to be breaking some kind of law?"

"Sleep!" He ordered pointing at the pillow.

"This is completely unnecessary. Not to mention rude!" She flopped into the bed fuming.

"I'm going to go and change." He smirked. He seemed to have found her anger amusing. "Stay there!" He took some clothes out of the closet and disappeared behind the bathroom door.

"It's not like I can go anywhere anyway!" She yelled tugging at her cuffed hand.

It took her a few minutes to realize that the handcuffs were not coming off however much she pulled. Feeling utterly defeated, she rested her head on the pillow and tried to sleep. The problem was she didn't know how to. Countless times she had observed humans falling asleep in the most hysterical positions and strangest of places. However she had no idea how all that worked. She closed her eyes tightly because that's what she had seen humans do.

However, closing her eyes only made her other senses turn more alive. She could clearly hear the water that had been running in the bathroom abruptly come to a stop. She could hear him slowly wander back into the bedroom. She could hear her stupid heart beat faster again as the soapy smell took over the room.

She felt the weight of the bed shift and her eyes shot opened.

"Don't worry … Felicity…" He called her by her name for the first time and Felicity felt a strange flutter in her stomach. "I'm not going to pounce on you when you're asleep." He turned to the other side to turn the lights off.

"I didn't think that you would… why would I think that? Why would you think I would think that?" Maybe it did cross her mind. Maybe she did want him to pounce on her, even if she didn't know why she would want him to do that.

"Sleep!" He warned again as he rolled onto his back.

She thought she heard him chuckle, but it was too dark to see his face and see if she was right. She closed her eyes, only to open them a second later at the grumbling noise that came from her stomach. "Oliver, my stomach is making a noise." Her stomach felt like it was on fire and the feeling was very different to what she felt a while ago when Oliver said her name.

"Just ignore it." He said groggily.

"I can't it's too loud." She whined.

He didn't reply this time.

Her stomach made the same noise again and it scared her. "Maybe I'm dying… people die suddenly don't they? I've seen it happen. 'Life is short', I think I saw it on a T-shirt or was it on one of those billboards… No one ever explained to me why though… but..."

He all of a sudden got up and released the end of the hand cuff which was linked to the bed. As she looked on bewildered, he hooked the cuff on to his own left hand. "Come on..." He drew her up from its chain.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she followed him out of the room.

"To the kitchen- to eat." He replied.

"Do you think that will stop this sound?" She put a hand on her stomach to see if the sound had stopped.

"I think it might stop you from talking about it." He said as they went down the stairs.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The kitchen island was a mess. It wasn't so before Felicity entered the kitchen and decided to try out everything inside the refrigerator. Some of what she tried, she just couldn't like. Some were too sweet or sour and some just burnt her tongue. She nibbled on whatever Oliver handed her and rejected most of them blatantly, until he gave her a gallon of 'mint chip ice cream'.

"This… This is so… heavenly!" Felicity squealed as she shoved another scoop of ice cream into her mouth. "Now I can actually understand why humans eat," she said, licking the spoon. Every bit of it was precious.

Oliver propped himself against the island so that he stood facing her. "I'm guessing Angels don't eat?" he asked in a very cynical tone, with a smirk plastered on his face.

She pointed the spoon at his arrogant face. "We don't need to and we're not allowed to. It's sort of a law." Her stare then fell to the tub of ice cream. She took a moment to consider whether those rules would still relate to her. But, even if they did, she realized she wasn't about to put the spoon down and step away from the splendor, which was 'mint chip ice cream'. "A law, which I think doesn't apply to me any longer, since, you know… because, I'm human now." She summed up and tasted another spoon full of ice cream.

Oliver smiled at her explanation as if he was entertained, but he didn't look as though he believed in any of what Felicity had said.

"What do you care, if angels eat or not?" She stabbed the ice cream with the sticky spoon in her hand. "I can see that you don't believe me anyway!" she spat.

He grabbed a spoon for himself, from the small rack next to him. "Well, it's a little hard to believe that an Angel fell down from the sky and turned human just to help me find my soulmate." He then reached for the ice cream in a very awkward manner as the handcuffs were restricting his movements.

She swatted his spoon away with hers and corrected him, "I told you, I'm not here to help you find her, but to get you back together with her."

He put the spoon back on the island, looking somewhat disappointed that she didn't permit him to taste the ice cream. "Ok, then. Just to humor you…Tell me just who this soulmate that you keep talking about is?"

"Laurel Lance," Felicity coolly answered, indulging on some more ice cream.

"What do you know about Laurel?" he threatened in a voice that reminded her of the way he sounded when she first met him.

Her eyes instantly fell upon him. His face was overrun with a range of emotions that she didn't yet have the ability to understand. However, she felt a strange pain in her chest as she realized it was the mention of 'Laurel' that had him reacting in such a way. "I… I just know… she's… she's your soulmate." she stuttered. "And that… I have to… get you two together."

His posture suddenly changed and he moved closer to her.

Feeling uncomfortable by the closeness, she began to move back.

But he kept her in place using the shackles. "And how exactly are you planning to do that?" His warm breath fell on her face and she felt her cheek go ablaze.

The spoon fell from her frozen hand and made a clanking noise against the tiled floor. The one kitchen light that hung above them, spotlighted Oliver and she now could see nothing but the tall, well-built man standing in front of her. She very audibly gulped. "I haven't actually figured that out yet, but I'm hoping this way… being human, I mean… might help me get you your soulmate much easily than by shooting an arrow through her heart."

His forehead wrinkled as he listened on.

"Because I'm really bad at shooting arrows… Charmed arrows, not the ones that could actually kill someone. I know it might sound totally absurd to you. Why arrows? Right? I ask the same question myself." She began to clarify, but when she saw his free hand come up as if to touch her face, she forgot what she had been rambling about. She fell completely silent.

The lines in his face disappeared. His index finger settled on her face, somewhere below her lower lip. Her eyes fluttered and closed, when his finger gently wandered up towards the corner of her mouth. She didn't know what she was expecting to happen, but she felt she should stand on her toes and lean in closer to him.

"Are you sure it's Laurel?" Hearing him utter the name 'Laurel' woke her up from whatever the trance she had been caught up in.

His hand was now hanging in midair and a bit of melted ice cream was dripping from his finger. Oliver had simply wiped some ice cream off her face and she felt somewhat let down without knowing why.

Felicity hesitated to say 'yes' for some reason. Maybe it was her imagination, but it appeared as if Oliver too wanted her to say 'no'.

She didn't know what possessed her. Probably to wipe out the silence that stretched between them or because she just couldn't watch her favorite food go to waste, either way, she had leaned forward and licked the bit of minty ice cream off his finger. A little snort escaped her as she tried to laugh off the awkwardness that soon followed. Yet, when she noticed his steady intense stare, she started to choke on her fake laugh.

Then all of a sudden, he pushed her behind him as if to protect her and turned around.

The chains lay tangled between them.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a tone barely above a whisper.

He shushed her and she decided to keep her next series of questions to herself.

Sounds of footsteps echoed within the manor. Felicity realized someone was coming towards the kitchen. A shadow gradually stretched across the kitchen doorway.

Imagining whatever that was approaching to be some frightening creature, Felicity clung to Oliver's t-shirt tightly. She was baffled to feel an odd sense of security while she stood behind this relatively unknown man.

Eventually, a ghostly figure with bird nest like hair and stick like legs, manifested before them.

"Ahh!" Felicity screamed and the creature yelled in an even higher pitch.

"Thea?" Oliver enquired.

The figure walked into the kitchen and revealed itself to be just a slim young girl with messy brown hair, holding a baseball bat. "What the hell, Ollie?"

Felicity came out from behind Oliver and hesitantly waved at the girl with her cuffed hand. "Hi?"

Thea's half awake eyes landed on the handcuffs. "Can you keep your kinky stuff inside your bedroom, please?"

Felicity couldn't understand what Oliver's sister was yammering about, but she knew one thing for sure, the girl definitely was not happy to be woken up in the middle of the night.

"What?" Oliver looked down at their connected hands and gave out a nervous chuckle. "No, Thea… Speedy … It's not what you think."

Thea then closed her eyes with one hand and pointed at Felicity's dear ice cream with the bat. "And, I don't even want to know what you've been doing with that ice cream. It better be in the garbage can when I wake up tomorrow." After making an irked sound, she turned around to go.

"What?" Why her ice cream had to be thrown away, baffled Felicity.

"It's not what it looks like." Oliver protested, still smiling at his sister's accusations.

"What does it look like?" Felicity looked back and forth between the two siblings.

"Well, the ice cream all over her face and t-shirt, proves otherwise. But, I'm kind of glad to see that you're back." Thea proceeded to leave, dragging her bat along the ground. "Good night, Ollie and Ollie's… uhm, date… that I probably won't see again tomorrow morning - or ever again," she shouted before she turned around a corner and vanished.

"At least that saved me the trouble of coming up with an explanation why you're really here." Oliver moved towards another counter and handed Felicity a napkin.

Felicity wiped her face and put it on the counter next to her. "Why couldn't we tell her the truth? About me being an Angel? She is your sister."

Oliver shook his head. "You're really going to stick to this Angel story?"

"It's not a story. It's the truth." She glanced down and frowned at the ice cream stains on her t-shirt. "Aah…I'm still all sticky," she complained.

"This is going to be a very long night," he muttered as he dragged her back up to his bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to the awesome KarenfrmMD for betaing the chapter! :D

However much Felicity tried, she just couldn't get into a proper posture to sleep. Not that she knew what a proper sleeping posture was, but she was sure with one hand cuffed to the bed, was not one of them. It was too darn uncomfortable. Especially since the bed covers, which should be protecting her from the cold, was now laying somewhere near her feet.

She tried to pull it up with her other hand, but it was far too out of her reach. So, with some effort she wrapped a corner of the comforter around her toes and started to slowly draw it upwards.

Out of nowhere, something heavy dropped across her stomach and she froze. She lifted her head slightly and saw that Oliver's large arm had draped itself over her. Before she could even attempt to shove his hand away, his head came to rest on her shoulder.

He cuddled into her, trapping her left arm and leg under him. Even if she were to try, she felt she wouldn't be able to, either wriggle away or push him off of her. Strangely, she didn't want to either. The heat emitting from his body was just perfect. She would rather have him stay there than try and retrieve the useless bed cover. So she laid there unmoved and silent.

There was something so wrong with what she was doing or rather not doing. On the other hand, there was something so right about having Oliver sheltering her from the cold. The feeling was so innate, but conflicting. It was a human feeling. She only knew that much.

Oliver shifted a little, murmuring something incoherently. He had to be dreaming, Felicity figured. 'Dreams' were another human concept she had heard of, but had yet to grasp. According to the little knowledge she did have of the subject, she presumed that he had to be dreaming about Laurel Lance. She wanted to turn his face towards her and see if his face would give away, what he was truly dreaming of - to see whether she was right. Yet she was too scared to move a single muscle. She was scared she would wake him up and he would move away, denying her his warmth.

He muttered in his sleep again and she shuddered as his breath caressed her neck. She began to wonder if she were to dream what it could be about and if she too would mutter things. She closed her eyes, wanting to know if she could, in fact, dream at all.

As her breathing became one with the man snuggling her, she felt herself drift off into what she presumed to be a good night's sleep.

"Wake up, we need to go!" Oliver shouted.

Felicity opened her eyes half way. The bright sunlight streaming into the room made her shut her eyes quickly and tightly. It was already morning. She was sure the last time she checked there were plenty of hours til sun rise. She in fact, hadn't even slept long enough to learn if she could dream or not. "But I think I like sleeping," she sulked.

The comforter was now somehow spread over her, leaving only her face uncovered. She drew it up over her head, cutting off the sunlight once and for all.

Oliver yanked her right hand out, from under the sheets and took the cuffs off. Seeing that she could finally move her hand, she happily turned to her side.

"Felicity!" he grunted.

"I like the way you say my name." Her eyes flew opened at her own words. She didn't know why she had made such a confession so loudly. Especially, when he was merely yelling out her name.

He fell silent for a second. She hoped he had given up on waking her up and just walked away. "Get up!" A moment later, he pulled the comforter down, completely exposing her to the light.

She squirmed as the morning sun flowing in through the windows hit her face.

"Get dressed, now!" He tossed her dress at her.

She clutched the dress and looked up at him. His blue eyes were still sparkling despite the grimace he bore.

"Okay… Okay… I'm going." Grumbling and yawning, Felicity dragged herself out of bed.

She stepped forward and accidentally bumped into Oliver's hard chest. If not for his hand that caught her by her waist, she would have plummeted back to the soft mattress behind. "Thank you…" she uttered softly, refusing to look anywhere beyond her eye line. She felt herself slowly arching towards him, secretly wishing to wrap herself in the warmth of his body just as she had done last night.

The way he had gripped her waist, frightened her. It felt as though he wasn't about to let her go anytime soon.

Yet, he did release her. He stepped away from her path. "Go and get ready." His voice was now much tender.

She nodded confusedly and chanced a glance at him. But, he was already walking towards the window and all she could see was his back.

As he stood looking down from the window, soaking up the sun, she stood there a second longer regarding his well built form.

He suddenly moved slightly. Fearing he was going to turn and catch her staring, she ran away to the bathroom.

With one little tug her shorts fell to the floor. She then took the ice cream stained t-shirt off and placed it upon the vanity along with her dress. Felicity hopped into the shower and learnt the whole space smelled like Oliver Queen. After sleeping next to him the whole night, she had become all too acquainted with his scent and suddenly being completely naked in his bathroom, surrounded by it, made her somewhat light headed. Her hand unconsciously ran to her waist, where he had grasped her earlier. She slanted her head to the side as she tried to comprehend what was happening to her.

A little knock on the door made her return from her musings.

"You okay in there?" Oliver asked.

Even though the door was locked, she covered herself with her hands. "Yeah."

When Felicity finally heard his steps retreat, she turned her attention to the complex looking shower controllers. "Now, how do these things work?" Why everything had to be complicated when it came to human inventions and humans themselves, she couldn't understand. Why there couldn't be one simple shower that was controlled by one simple valve rather than a series of valves, she couldn't understand. Thankfully, after few mishaps she managed to understand which valve did what and finally took a shower.

She came out wearing her dress, and the slippers which she had left in the corner of the bathroom the night before. Her hair was still wet and was sticking to her neck. She pushed few of the wet strands back to stop the water from dripping to the floor.

Oliver's expression changed the moment he saw her and he looked away as though he didn't want her to notice the change. "Let's go," he said as he led her out of the room.

Felicity didn't think it was possible, but the Manor looked more grandeur in the morning than it had in the night. She stopped for a second in the middle of the staircase to examine the pictures hanging on the wall. Her gaze landed on a family portrait, where Oliver looked a different man than he was now. It wasn't just the fact he looked younger, but there was something in his eyes that made him seem different.

She wasn't given the time to ponder on it for long, because Oliver had clasped her wrist and taken her down the stairs.

A shiny silver car awaited them as they stepped outside. "Get in," he told her as he opened the door for her.

She merrily got in, rather excited to see if this car too had cool buttons like the limo she was in last night. Alas, the blindfolds came into play even before the car took off and she didn't get to explore a thing.

When she started to complain about her stomach making noises again, he stopped the car somewhere. Before long, he handed her something round, sweet and soft to eat. This new sweet treat, whatever it was, she decided would be her second favourite human food after 'mint chip ice cream'.

A few minutes later, which almost felt like an eternity, the engine stopped. Oliver then guided her into where she suspected to be his secret hideout.

"How was your night?" Diggle's deep voice that resonated in her ear affirmed her suspicions.

"How do you think it went?" Oliver muttered as he helped her take the blindfolds off.

Felicity's eyes opened to the sight of the dingy walls and the steaming pipes. Diggle was sitting in front of the computer with his back turned to them. Everything seemed little bit too blue and she wiped her eyes.

"I'm guessing, not that great?" Diggle turned around with a snarky smile plastered on his face.

Oliver rolled his eyes as if to imply that the night had been worse than whatever Diggle could have imagined it to be. "Did you find anything on her?" he asked instead of replying to Dig's question.

She looked between the two men. "Are you talking about me? You're not going to find anything about me on your computers." Felicity scoffed when she realized they both were ignoring her completely.

"Not yet. Just the first name isn't much to go on. But, one of my old military buddies got me this device." Diggle pointed at a little black box set upon the table. "It's a high tech polygraph machine. I just hooked it up to the computer. Maybe we can ask her some questions?" he suggested.

Oliver hummed in agreement and in a moment not too soon, he sat her in a chair near the computers.

"Is this going to hurt?" She bit her lower lip as Diggle began to strap some wires on her fingers and upper arms.

"It's just going let us know whether you're telling us the truth." Diggle grinned as he sat in the chair next to her. "Okay, you can talk to her now," he said to Oliver and pressed a key on the keyboard.

Oliver came to stand directly in front of her. "What colour is your hair?"

Felicity giggled. "That's easy. Blonde! But sometimes I wonder what I might look like if I was a brunette. I've seen humans change their hair colour. One time…"

A little smile crept into his face, but it looked like he was trying hard to keep it sealed. "Just keep your answers short."

"Okay." She bobbed her head up and down.

"What colour is your hair?" he repeated.

"Blonde," she simply answered like she was told.

"What colour are your shoes?" His eyes fell to her feet.

She too looked down at her shoes. "Gold…"

"What's your name?" Oliver's gaze went to the computer screen next to her.

"Felicity," she replied.

"Last name?" he asked.

"I don't have one." Felicity began to swivel in the chair. "This is fun," she added.

"She's not lying." Diggle continued to watch the little green and red lines that moved up and down on the monitor.

"Stay still!" Oliver's forehead wrinkled. "How do you know who I am?"

She stopped rotating the chair and put on a more serious expression. "I got the information from my boss, Cupid."

"True again!" Diggle noted, his eyebrows raised as if he was surprised.

Oliver sighed, "Who is Cupid?"

"God of desire and affection. Son of the goddess of love, Venus." Her mind travelled to that one time she caught a glimpse of the goddess. She hadn't seen anyone as beautiful. "She's the most beautiful goddess… up there…" She pointed her index finger towards the ceiling. "I mean, from the ones I had the pleasure of meeting. Actually, I haven't met anyone else." She admitted, but she doubted that there could be someone more beautiful than the goddess of love.

"Okay, let's move on to the next question…" Oliver muttered through gritted teeth.

For the next ten minutes, he questioned her. With every answer she gave, more annoyed he became. Even if the machine had indicated that she was being honest, Oliver didn't seem convinced. "Okay, last question…. Are you going to reveal my secret to anyone?"

"No! I'm here to get you and Laurel together. I don't even know what your big secret is." She stated firmly and sat with her arms crossed over her chest. She was frustrated. How many times did she have to tell them this story.

Oliver quickly turned his attention to his friend to find out whether the machine had concluded what she had said to be true or a lie.

"She's telling the truth." Diggle got up from his seat and started to remove the thin wires attached to her. He was gentle, unlike grumpy Oliver.

When Diggle moved away after disconnecting the wires, Felicity found Oliver's piercing blue eyes glaring at her. She quickly got to her feet, wanting to escape his stare. But her legs failed her. She played with her fingers as she shifted her weight on to her heels and then to her toes. Her eyes wandered about the room. An opened trunk with arrows and a bow sticking out, caught her attention. "What do you do with those?" She ran towards the trunk.

"That's not a toy!" Oliver came stomping behind her. 

She picked up a bow and an arrow out of the chest. "Do you know how dangerous they are? I mean, I know how dangerous they are. This is what got me in this mess in the first place." She pulled an arrow through the bow and aimed at different things in the room.

"Felicity! Put it down!" he yelled.

She gave him an eye roll. "Sorry, but it's not like I've never used a bow before… because, I used to be -"

He seemed oddly possessive over the weapon as he pulled it out of her hand. "One of cupid's angels? Didn't you say you have bad aim?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on shooting anyone now," she shrugged.

Oliver turned around and aimed the arrow at a target set at the far end of the room. She admired his stance, the way he held the weapon with confidence. He let the arrow go and with a whoosh sound, the arrow soared towards the target.

Felicity gasped when it hit the bull's-eye. "You're almost as good as him. Eh, my boss… Cupid."

Oliver glowered as he reached behind her and grabbed another arrow from the wooden chest. He seemed to have taken her previous statement as a challenge and he looked very determined to prove her wrong. He then released the arrow with his eyes set on her, without even looking at the target. It hit the dead center of the first arrow splitting the arrow he shot before into two.

"You're really good. No, great! But, he's… better… I think…" She began to stammer as his stare intensified.

"Oliver, you might want to take a look at this news report." Diggle's interjection gave a reason for Felicity to look away from Oliver.

"What is it?" Oliver dumped the bow back into the trunk and went over to where Diggle was.

"A woman has been murdered last night. And, according to the witness' description, the police think it could be Max Clayton." Diggle increased the volume on the video.

A woman was crying and explaining how the said man killed someone called, 'Sasha'. Felicity's eyes instantly welled up at the woman's story. She gradually moved closer to Oliver to get a better look. The more the woman talked, the harder it became for her to hold her tears in. They began to stream down her cheeks. She smeared the tears with the back of her hand and watched the emotions playing on Oliver's face.

Oliver's jaws were clenched and hands were balled into fists. "So that means Max is back in town! Then tonight, I will hopefully get the chance to put an arrow through him and cross one more name off the list."

"What? You're going to put an arrow through him?" She was shocked. Why would Cupid want to set up Laurel Lance with a murderer.

"He's an evil man. He deserves it!" Oliver spat.

She moved back, slightly staggered by his outburst. "But… you can't decide that. Do you know if he's the real killer? Do you know why he did what he did? Do you know how many people will be affected by his death? Do you know…"

"Stop!" He put his hand up. "Are you telling me, people like him, who are guilty of human trafficking and destroying the lives of so many young women, deserves a place in this world? He makes money by selling human beings! Does he deserve to live?"

"No, but you… can't," Felicity couldn't make up her mind. Oliver's reasoning seemed valid enough. However, the way she understood it, taking a life of another was wrong, whatever the reason maybe.

"Dig, I think it's time we say goodbye to Miss Felicity." Oliver dug out his wallet from his pocket and took some money out. "Put her on a train to Central City." He placed a couple of hundred dollar notes in her hand.

"No!" Felicity threw the money away. She had to stay close to him if she wanted to complete her mission.

"But... She knows who you are," Diggle reminded him.

"You said it yourself, Dig, she's just a crazy stalker.… And the polygraph test proves she doesn't have any other motives." Oliver bent down a bit so that his eye would meet her. "And I know she won't tell anyone anyway. I think she now knows what I'm capable of," he said to her warningly.

Diggle put on his jacket and grabbed the blindfold off the table. "Are you sure about this, Oliver?"

"Yes!" Oliver answered coldly.

Diggle tied the blindfold and gripped her by arm. "Let's go, Felicity…"

"No… But I have to get Oliver and Laurel together! Don't do this!" she begged, but in spite of her struggles to remain there, Diggle easily drew her away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains an attempted rape scene, but it's not graphic and it doesn't go anywhere very disturbing. Just thought I give a heads up.
> 
> Thanks so much to KarenfrmMD for betaing this chapter for me :D

**Chapter 5**

It wasn't easy. But after scouring through the city the whole night and battling off goons of every size and form, Oliver was finally able to put an end to Max Clayton's filthy business and cross his name off the list.

"You did the right thing, Oliver." Diggle turned the foundry lights off.

Oliver fixed his collar. "But, why do I feel like-" His phone buzzed in his pocket before he could finish the sentence. He took it out and checked the name flashing on the display. "It's Detective Lance," he informed Diggle as he pressed the green button on the screen and answered the call.

Sounds of horns honking from the other end of the line implied that Lance was somewhere outside. " _Mr. Queen? This is Detective Lance_."

"Yes, Detective," Oliver replied.

" _Do you know someone called Felicity? I don't know a last name, but blonde, blue eyes?"_  Lance sounded somewhat on edge and Oliver instantly thought that Felicity may have blabbed his secret to the police.

If that were the case, admitting that he knew the woman could get him into more than a spot of bother. Then again, the polygraph machine had proven she wouldn't do anything of the sort. Yet, on the other hand, the machine had also proven that she was an angel. Which was absolutely crazy and not to mention implausible.

But, what if she was in some kind of danger and that was the reason why the Detective had contacted him? "Yes… I know someone called Felicity," he reluctantly admitted, glancing over at Diggle.

"What's going on?" Diggle asked.

" _Few hours ago, one of our officers has seen her walking around, crying in the Glades. She hadn't said anything much. But, she had mentioned that she's looking for you_ ," the Detective explained.

She was supposed to be in Central City. The Glades was no place for someone so naive like her, or any woman for that matter to be walking around by themselves at night. "Where is she now?" Oliver demanded an answer.

" _Some kind of a fight had broken out across the street from them and someone had pulled out a gun. And-"_  The sound of a loud horn honking repeatedly cut Lance off.

"Is she alright?" Oliver had driven Felicity away mainly because he couldn't handle the truth. Whatever his motivations were, he was a killer and he couldn't handle someone pointing it out to him. So, if something had happened to her, he felt that it would be no one's but his fault.

When finally the horn stopped blaring off in his ear, Lance continued, " _The officer was shot. I got this information from him, when I went to the hospital to take his statement. For now, we don't know where she is. She must have gotten scared and run away. Officers on duty are keeping an eye out for her. And, Queen, do I even want to know why she is looking for you or how you two know each other?_ " Officer Lance had never been shy to express what he thought of Oliver Queen's relationships with women.

Oliver wouldn't blame him though. He deserved it. He did single handedly destroy the lives of both of Detective Lance's daughters and consequently, his family.

"We're just friends," Oliver stated.

" _Whatever…"_  Lance muttered.

"It's her first time in Starling, she must have gotten lost," Oliver quickly added.

" _So, do you know a last name?"_  Lance asked.

Oliver hesitated. She never told him a last name and they had failed to find one.

Lance grumbled when Oliver didn't offer an answer. " _Why am I not surprised?"_

He knew what exactly Lance was insinuating. Oliver Queen had a reputation for one night stands and treating women like his playthings. In fact, he truly couldn't remember the last names or even the first names of half of the women he had slept with before being standard in Lian yu.

The detective sighed, " _I will let you know if we find anything. If she contacts you in some way… please let us know."_

"Ok. I will, Detective." Oliver hung up the phone and put the foundry lights back on. He had just taken his hoodie off, thinking his work was done for the night. But it seemed it was not to be so. "Dig, we need to go to the Glades. According to Lance, my stalker girl is lost." He walked up to the trunk where he had stashed his vigilante suit.

Diggle followed him. "But I put her on a train to Central City myself. I gave her money and told her not to come back?"

"Well, she's back." Oliver took his jacket and shirt off.

"Is she Okay?"

"Don't know…." Oliver shook his head, "Dig, take my car and just see if you can find her." He tossed his car keys to his friend.

Diggle caught the keys with one hand. "Are you going to hood up?"

"The Hood doesn't have to obey speed limits unlike Oliver Queen and he can go places Oliver Queen can't." Oliver pulled out his green suit out of the trunk.

"I did tell you how creepy it is to hear you talk about yourself in the third person, right?" Diggle mumbled as he exited the foundry.

For the second time that night, Oliver wore his hood and smeared green paint over his eyes. He grabbed his trusty bow and quiver, and rode off in his motorbike towards the Glades.

For more than an hour, he circled the most dangerous areas of the city. However, there was no sign of her. Driving around felt pointless after a while. So, he parked his bike in a secluded corner, away from any prying eyes and surveyed the area. The building on the left of him seemed tall enough to give a good view of the entire place. He shot a grapple hook arrow and got onto its roof. The streets below were dark, but there was just enough light for him to make out what was happening.

"No! Let me go!" He heard a scream and he just knew it was Felicity. "Stop!" She cried again, but she was nowhere in sight.

Oliver jumped to the other, much shorter building and spotted her on the ground with two men hovering over her. She was struggling to fight them off and one of the men was trying to pull the straps of her dress down.

Oliver hurriedly grabbed a hold of a drain pipe and slid down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he shot an arrow on the knee of the larger one of the two men. The injured man immediately dropped to the ground, groaning, while the other goon quickly stepped back and pulled out a pocket knife.

Felicity looked about and saw him. She seemed bewildered and frail. Oliver gently helped her onto her feet and she wrapped her small arms around him. Her fingers tightly held onto the material of his hoodie as she buried her face in his chest. He could hear her muffled sobs and his free hand unconsciously stroked her back.

"You're safe," he whispered. Instantly, he could feel her whole body relaxing against his. He glared at the two men in front of him. One of them was rolling on the floor in pain. The other one was stupid enough to still stand there, thinking his little knife could help defend himself.

Oliver slowly pulled away from Felicity and stepped in front of her. He took an arrow out of the quiver and aimed it at the heart of the man who dared to challenge him.

The man's hand began to shake. "Don't come any closer," he warned, but the knife dropped from his unsteady hand.

When Oliver was about to let the arrow go, he felt Felicity's hand tugging on his arm as if asking him not to kill him. He complied, but lowered his bow and shot the man's leg instead. He too collapsed to the floor next to his friend.

Oliver drew Felicity away from the scene and when they were out of earshot of the two croons, he called Diggle. He informed him of their whereabouts, so that he could come and take Felicity to the Queen mansion.

Felicity was clutching to Oliver's arm tightly and his eyes ran to her. Her once bright blue eyes had gone dim and red. Her white dress wasn't white anymore. There was a little scratch on her forehead, just below her hairline and she was bleeding. He moved her hair back and checked on the graze.

Her eyes closed and she moaned when accidentally, his gloved hand touched the scrape. He quickly took his hand back. "Dig is coming to take you home," he told her.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "You're not coming with me?" Her shaky voice tugged on his heartstrings. Once again, someone was hurt because of him, and this time, as far as he understood, that someone was just an innocent girl. If he had kept her in the foundry one more day and tolerated her silly tales until they found more about her, this may not have happened.

He fell silent as guilt washed over him.

Headlights of a car flashed into his face and he stepped back towards the shadows.

The car pulled over in front of them and the window rolled down. "Are you Okay?" Diggle put his head out of the window to check on Felicity.

She hummed a very tentative 'yes' as Oliver opened the door to the back seat and helped her get in. She seemed hesitant to let go of him. "Diggle will make sure you're safe," he assured her.

She slowly released him, her eyes still asking him to come along with her.

Oliver stared at her frightened form for a moment. 

She recoiled into the seat and pulled her feet up.

"Take her home…" He finally slammed the door shut.

Diggle rolled the window up again and drove away into the gloomy road ahead of them. Oliver stood staring at the fading car, trying to get the image of the broken girl out of his head. It was when the car disappeared out of his sight completely, he was able to think properly again.

He returned to the foundry on his bike and once he had put his Oliver Queen façade back on, he headed home.

Despite of the chaos in his world, the mansion grounds looked calm as usual as it did every night. He straight away went up to his room and the first thing that came into his view was Felicity's gold slippers that were dispersed on the floor. She was sitting in a corner of the bed, with her knees pulled towards her chest and her arms wrapped around them tightly.

He didn't put the lights on. He felt she wouldn't like it. Or maybe it was just him, who didn't want to see this unknown woman unhappy and hurt.

"Mr. Diggle said we will wait outside the mansion for you, but your sister saw me and she let me in." 

At least her voice was back to normal, he thought.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Did she ask you anything?"

She rested her chin on top of her knees. "Nothing… Mr. Diggle told her … you told him to drop me off here. And she just smiled and let me in."

As he slowly approached her, he noticed the little bandage on her forehead. "Are you okay?"

"Mr. Diggle put a bandage on my forehead, but my stomach is hurting again." 

He couldn't help but smile at the puppy dog face she made. "I'll bring you something to eat." He turned around to leave.

"Mint chip ice cream?" Her soft request made him stop in his tracks and smile even more.

"Mint chip ice cream it is," he promised.

As he started towards the door, his eyes caught the clothes he had given to her last night. They were neatly folded and placed up on a drawer. Raisa, their housekeeper must have washed them, he supposed.

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

On his way down, he called Detective Lance. The officer grumbled something again when Oliver informed him that Felicity was staying at his home and then he hung up.

Oliver walked into the kitchen, hoping that Raisa had already replaced the ice cream tub he had thrown away last night. She normally would. Whenever she found out that they had run out of it, she would replace it. Solely because, she knew mint chip was his favorite.

Oliver opened the freezer and grinned ear to ear when he saw the new pint of ice cream glowing under the freezer light. Raisa had not failed him. 

He took a bowl out and filled it with four large scoops.

When he returned to his room with the ice cream bowl, Felicity was just coming out after a quick shower. The t-shirt stopped just below her thigh and he wasn't sure if she was even wearing the shorts. He regretted giving her that t-shirt just as he had regretted it last night. Crazy stalker or not, she wasn't an unattractive woman and he certainly was a red blooded man. He looked away before he got caught ogling at her long lean legs. "I got you ice cream, as promised."

She hopped into the bed and sat with her legs crossed. She then kept a pillow on her lap and stretched a hand towards him, asking for the bowl.

He handed it to her and watched as she started eating the ice cream.

She looked up at him smiling. "Thank you," she said with a mouthful of ice cream and he knew her 'thank you' was not just for the ice cream. 

"I'm sorry," he blurted out in return.

Her forehead creased and her head tilted to the side. "For what?"

He hid his hands in his pockets and cast his eyes down. "It's my fault."

She balanced the bowl on the pillow on her lap and took a deep breath. "While I was walking around, lost… I saw a lot of things. I heard a lot of things… About someone called the hood, the vigilante." She stared at him as though it was only now she had discovered who he truly was. "You didn't know me. You don't believe my story. You didn't have to come and save me from those two men, but you did." She winced a bit as she spoke of the incident and took a second to recover. "I can sort of understand why you do what you do and how hard it might be for you to do what you do… I may not like it, but I think I understand."

Her experience seemed to have changed her opinion of him and in some way it seemed to have changed her as well. The change was miniscule, but apparent. A part of him welcomed the change, but a part of him didn't like how the change had come about.

"I didn't really put an arrow in Max Clayton. I tied him up and let the police take care of him," he confessed, staring into her blue eyes that were peering at him in the darkness.

"Why?" she asked softly.

When every cell in his body was egging him to drive an arrow through Max Clayton's heart, he had let the man live. He still wasn't sure why. "I don't know…" But he felt if he gazed into this blonde girl's eyes long enough, he may learn the answer.

Silence lingered between them until it was broken by the strong chilly wind that blew opened a window.

"So... I guess I'll be leaving tomorrow." She looked down at the bowl resting on her lap.

He stared at her, confused. Sure, he didn't know what he should do with her, if she were to stay, but he didn't think she would want to leave so soon.

"Don't worry... I'll be careful." She seemed determined as she took the spoon to her hand again and scooped up some ice cream. "Guess I'm going to have to get used to the idea of being an elf."

"What?" He wasn't sure he heard the last part right.

"That was the deal I made with Cupid. He gave me three months to get you two together. If I don't, I'll have to live an eternity as an elf." She put the spoon in her mouth and gobbled the melting ice cream.

He tried to imagine her with pointy ears and a green hat. It just didn't look right. "Maybe you should stay?" He didn't know why he had suggested that, but it felt like it was the right thing to say.

She dropped the spoon into the bowl. "What? You want me to stay?" She gazed at him, surprised.

"I don't believe in your story…" He mulled over it a second, "but… if you think there's a chance that you can help Laurel and I-" He paused, and eyed the blonde girl wearing his t-shirt. He felt like there was something other than Laurel that was driving him to agree to this silly idea. But, he couldn't quite figure out what it actually was.

"Yes! Oh, thank you!" she squealed, accepting the offer even before he was done explaining.

"Just three months." He reminded her. After three months, he would bid her goodbye, whether things between Laurel and him worked out or not. Whether it meant she had to become an elf or not.

"Just three months." She nodded and then went about finishing her ice cream.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the wonderful KarenfrmMD for beta-ing this chapter for me :)

Oliver usually didn't move around in bed in his sleep that much. But, that morning, just like the morning before, he discovered that he had somehow travelled almost to the other side of the bed.

He lazily rolled over onto his stomach with his eyes still closed. His hand blindly searched for the blonde that was supposed to be lying next to him. When his hand roamed over the empty spot, his eyes shot opened. She was gone.

"Felicity?" He sat up on the bed and scanned the room. There was no sign of her. Had the girl wandered off and gotten herself into trouble again? He should have just cuffed her to the bed again.

Oliver jumped off the bed and bolted out of the room looking for her. Just as he was about to run down the stairs he heard her laughter come flying through the hallways.

He followed the sound to Thea's room. Her bedroom door was left opened a crack and he could see Thea sitting on her bed amidst a sea of colorful clothes. Yet, the blonde was nowhere to be seen.

He pushed the door slightly and Thea turned around. "Hey, Ollie! Did you know your friend, Felicity, is an Angel?"

"She told you that?" His eyes went wide as he wondered what else Felicity may have blabbered to his sister.

"She wandered into the kitchen looking for mint chip ice cream. I just offered the girl a few scoops of ice cream... And she told me everything about what she's doing here." Thea got up and walked over to him, pushing her messy hair out of her face. "She told me she's here to get you back together with your soulmate."

He couldn't understand how Thea could know all this and not consider Felicity crazy. And, in turn, call him an idiot for inviting a crazy woman to their home. "And, you believe her?" He took few strides inside and glanced over Thea's head to see if he could spot Felicity somewhere.

He heard someone tumble inside Thea's walk-in closet. "I'm… I'm alright. I'm ok," Felicity stammered.

Thea put her hands on her hips and stood blocking him from going any further. "I think intrigued might be a better word to describe what I think of her story." She gave him a cheeky smile. "And I just thought she should wear something other than your t-shirt and that God awful dress, I saw her wearing last night."

Oliver had seen that glint in Thea's eyes before. That little twinkle he saw in her eyes was never a good sign. "Thea, she's not going to be your new pet project!"

"Who says she is!" His little sister threw him a deadly glare. "Ollie, for the past few years, our family has been through a lot. As crazy as it sounds, the idea of someone trying to help my brother find his soulmate, gives me hope. It helps me to believe that all is not so bad with this world. And besides, any girl who my brother thinks is good enough to bring home more than once, deserves a bit of attention. Even if she says the most outlandish story in the world." She walked closer to him and narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to read his thoughts. "I mean, there has to be a reason why my dear brother wants to keep her around. Especially, if he doesn't believe in her story?" she said softly, almost to herself.

Oliver opened his mouth to protest, but he was cut off by Felicity's shrieking. "Ah! Thea, I think I need your help with this!"

"Ok, Ollie, I'm going to go and help our Angel in there. And then I'm going to take her shopping! Angel or not, how can anyone do anything in those gold slippers of hers?" Thea turned him around and began to push him out of her room. "So, you can go now and do whatever that is you normally do… and I'll meet you at Verdant later. With a new and improved Felicity." Once he was standing outside of her room, she closed the door on him.

He pounded on the door. "Speedy! Let her go! She's not your pet project!"

The door opened and Thea's head popped out. "She doesn't belong to you either, Ollie! And don't worry, I'm not going to break her. I'm just going to help her help you." With that, she closed the door again with a bang.

It was just like that one time, when Thea had brought home a stray cat and began to treat her like one of her dolls. Oliver remembered his sister closing the door on him the same way, when he had told her that the cat shouldn't be wearing a dress or a crown.

Oliver looked at the closed door for a moment and he eventually decided to leave Felicity in Thea's care.

He went back into his room still internally debating, whether what he had done was wise. Then again, it seemed a better option than keeping the Angel locked up in the basement of Verdant the whole day. At least, for the time being he wouldn't have to worry about her.

He was brought out of his reveries by the buzzing of his phone. He quickly answered it, seeing that it was Diggle. "Is everything alright?" It was not usual for his bodyguard turned friend, to call him this early in the morning, if there wasn't something wrong.

" _I've got a lead on Mr. Dale!"_  Diggle informed him.

Oliver needed no more incentive to get dressed and run down to the foundry than that.

And from there on, the rest of the day was spent in the secret lair, scheming on how to capture the notorious drug dealer, Charles Dale.

By evening, he set out to capture the crook and by night, he returned to the foundry already to cross Mr. Dale's name off the list.

"So did Mr. Dale get what he deserved?" Diggle asked just as Oliver entered the foundry.

The argument he had with Felicity the other night over Max Clayton replayed in Oliver's mind. "Dig, I realized I can't just go around killing people without thinking about the consequences," he said as he put his weapon away. "So, I decided to leave him in front of the police station. Just like I did with Max Clayton."

"Good." Diggle flashed a knowing smile. "And there's something I want you to see Oliver. You're not going to believe what I finally managed to find out about our little angel." He walked over to the computers and sat on the rotating chair. He entered some kind of a password and a picture of Felicity popped up on the display.

Her hair was bound in a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of spectacles. She was smiling brightly and the light pink shirt she wore made her cheeks look like they were blushing. She looked different, but still seemed rather appealing. Although, it was somewhat strange for Oliver to see her dressed in something other than her long white gown or his old t-shirt.

Diggle clicked few options and he drew up some information on her. "Five years ago, same day as you disappeared, Miss Felicity Meghan Smoak was meant to start working at QC as an intern. But, she never showed up."

Oliver looked up at his friend confused. "That's-" He stopped short unable to find the right words.

"A weird coincidence?" Diggle shook his head. "If you think that's weird… get this… other than her professional qualification and her date of birth, there's no other records of her. No info on her parents, an address… nothing."

Oliver leaned over the chair to read the information. Her qualification seemed impressive. She had graduated from MIT when she was eighteen. She was supposedly some kind of a genius.

"My friend from ARGUS, who dug this info for me, thinks that someone may have erased her records. Someone with a lot of knowhow. Someone from MIT?" Diggle supposed.

But the girl who had been sleeping in Oliver's room for the past two days, didn't even know how to eat ice cream without spilling it all over herself. She couldn't be some kind of a computer whiz. Could she? For some unknown reason, Oliver hoped Diggle's friend from ARGUS had made a mistake. "Are you sure it's her?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but… the picture…" Diggle sat back and stared at Felicity Smoak's picture. The resemblance was uncanny.

Yet, Oliver would much rather believe in the Angel story than the new information that had surfaced. "Then… what about the lie detector test?"

Diggle sighed as he finally closed the application window. "I don't know, man. Maybe we asked the wrong questions… And where is she anyway?"

"With Thea. She seemed to believe in all the soulmate nonsense." Suddenly, Oliver became worried over Thea. He wasn't sure that it was safe to leave his sister alone with Felicity anymore. There was a chance, she may not be what he thought she was and her sister could be in danger. "Diggle, we need to find Thea!"

"I have a feeling that it's not going to be a problem." Diggle pointed at one of the screens that showed the security camera feed from the club.

Oliver shifted his eyes to the monitor and saw his underage sister dancing with a couple of men. By the looks of it, she seemed to have had more than a few drinks.

It didn't take Oliver that long to spot the familiar blonde dancing behind his sister. "Is that Felicity?" It was definitely her. She was not in her usual attire, the Angel uniform as she called it. But, she was in a short, low cut dress. It may have been a bit strange to see her in a plain ol' pink shirt a while ago, but when Oliver saw her in that dress, it evoked something even stranger within him. "Is she trying to flirt with that guy?" Oliver moved closer to the screen. He wouldn't call it jealousy. Nonetheless, he just felt like putting an arrow through the scrawny guy, who was circling her on the dance floor.

Diggle smiled as though he had found his reaction quite amusing. "So, are we going to ask her about this or are we going to-"

Oliver glanced at the security feed one more time as he began to change his clothes. A carefree Felicity was dancing. Thea seemed to have taught her few dance moves. Felicity, perhaps, may not have been the best dancer out there, but he found himself staring at her. "Let's just play along and see…" He wanted to give the girl a chance to prove herself. He just was not ready to think that Felicity had been lying to him. Maybe, just like Thea, he, too, merely wanted to believe that all is not too bad in the world. "Dig, take Thea home. And I'll take care of our Angel."

Diggle agreed with a simple nod.

Once Oliver was in his regular Oliver Queen clothes, they both went up to the club. Thea didn't look so happy, when she saw them approach her. Felicity, on the other hand, was too caught up in her dance to see them come her way.

"It's time for you to go home, Speedy." Oliver glared at his sister warningly.

"I'm not a child, Ollie!" She simply ignored him and continued to dance.

"But, you're still underage and I'm your brother!" Oliver turned to Diggle.

He took Oliver's cue and drew Thea away from the crowd. "Alright, Miss Queen, it's time for you to go home."

Thea went along protesting. "I was just trying to teach Felicity how things work in our world!"

"I'll see you at home, Speedy!" Oliver watched his sister, until she disappeared out the door and then turned around to deal with the blonde. But, she wasn't where she was a second ago.

Oliver walked further into the crowd looking for her. A woman bumped into him intentionally, trying to get his attention. But, he had no time to pay attention to her or anyone else who glared at him all googly eyed. His sole focus was on finding the Angel.

He heard her laughter and turned about. He saw her blonde head in the middle of the dance floor. A thin man, with very poor taste in clothes, was grinding against her. He had his hands around Felicity's waist from behind. Something burnt inside of Oliver seeing that idiot of a man with Felicity, a woman who he barely knew. A woman, who could be some kind of an IT genius or a stalker or an Angel.

Oliver slowly stepped towards them. He could faintly make out their conversation amidst the thumping drum beat of the techno music, playing in the club.

"So, where are you from, sweetheart?" her dancing partner asked, his nose digging into her hair.

She pointed her finger upwards.

The man glanced at the roof and then at her again. "Alaska?"

Felicity giggled and waved her head. "No! I'm an Angel from up there."

"I don't doubt that." The idiot grinned. "So, are all the Angels there, as pretty as you?" He began to slowly place kisses on her neck.

"No! Stop that!" Felicity was trying to get away from him, but he was holding onto her too tightly.

"I think she said stop!" Oliver caught the man by the collar of his shirt.

"Oliver!" Felicity screamed happily and grabbed onto Oliver's hand.

Her dance partner quickly let her go. "Mr. Queen? I was just… she's… I didn't know you and her…" he stuttered. As it turned out, he was an employee at Queen Consolidated, who Oliver had often seen whilst visiting his mother there.

"Get out of here right now!" Oliver threatened the QC employee in a voice very close to his arrow voice.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Queen. I'm extremely sorry." He ran off into the crowd.

Felicity tugged from the sleeve of Oliver's shirt. "Why are you spinning?" She asked her body swaying left to right.

Oliver's eyes raked over the blonde. She was clearly drunk. "How many drinks did you have?"

"Just four…" she said, holding up two fingers instead of four.

"Let's go!" He held her by her waist to make sure she wouldn't stumble and fall. "And you can't just go around telling people, where you're from or you're an Angel," he told her as they began to walk through the crowd.

"Is it a secret like your secret?" she shouted.

He moved her hair back and whispered into her ear. "Yes. So don't tell anyone."

Her eyes fluttered as she looked up at him innocently. "Ok," she whispered back.

"Ollie?" Oliver felt someone gently pat him on the back. 

He stopped in his tracks. He knew, to whom that voice belonged to, even before turning around. "Laurel?"

"Hey, it's Laurel! Gorgeous Laurel! Your Laurel!" Felicity put her arms around him to steady herself.

"She's cute." Laurel smiled looking at the blonde, who was now resting her head on his chest.

"It's not what you think. She's …" he tried to explain. Yet, he truly didn't know how he was supposed to tell her that the blonde girl hugging him, was either an angel or an MIT graduate pretending to be one.

Felicity let go of him and turned to Laurel. "I'm his Angel… but…" She put her index finger on her pursed lips. "Shh… don't tell anyone. It's a secret!"

 "Felicity!" Felicity lost her footing and Oliver managed to quickly grab a hold of her.

She looked up at him dazed. Her hands began to wonder all over his chest. "You're so strong, Oliver… and so warm. Did I tell you that I like the way you wrap your arms around me when you sleep?" She snuggled into him.

"So, it's not what I think, ha?" Laurel teased. "You don't have to lie to me, Ollie. I think it's time for both of us to move on anyway. It's alright. I'm happy for you." She gave him a little smile and walked off.

"But, Laurel!" He wanted to go after her, but the blonde in his arms just wouldn't let him move.

"Good bye, Laurel! Gorgeous, Laurel…" she mumbled into his chest.

He looked down at Felicity and sighed. "Let's go!" He carefully led her to the foundry.

"I feel really safe with you," she said as he helped her down the stairs.

"Ok… now, just get some sleep." He sat her on the small couch there and took her heels off. 

But, she just wouldn't stay there. She stood up on her tip toes and gazed into his eyes. "Did you know that guy out there told me I have beautiful eyes?" "But, you know what I think? I think you have beautiful eyes! And a nice nose… and beautiful lips…" She ran her finger on his lips, nattering away about how soft they were.

Her actions made his stare stray to her babbling lips. Her lips looked slightly more red than usual because of the lip-gloss she was wearing.

"Felicity!" He wanted her to stop doing whatever she was doing. He caught her probing finger and put it away. He may have been Laurel's soulmate according to Felicity, but he couldn't deny that peculiar rumble he felt deep within his chest as he stared at the blonde.

"Hmm?" Her eyelids fluttered. "I wonder how it's like to kiss.." She leaned closer to him, lips puckered and her curious eyes staring at his lips.

He held  her by her hips to stop her from moving any closer. "Felicity..."  He wanted to step back, but she had him enthralled. He couldn't even look away. He couldn't ignore her or ignore what she just said out aloud.

"Oliver?" She called his name almost pleadingly, making it even harder for him to refuse her.

He knew he probably shouldn't. He knew he would regret this in a few minutes. But he let his lips meet her soft silky lips

She tasted like strawberry lip gloss and tequila. Her petite body fitted perfectly with his. He had not realized how revealing the back of her dress was, until he felt her warm skin underneath his fingers.

It felt right to kiss her, but his brain wouldn't let him forget that it wasn't the right thing to do.

 "I'm so sorry." He moved back. The kiss probably hadn't lasted longer than a second, but he knew it was terribly wrong of him to kiss her. First of all, she was drunk. Second of all, who was she? She wasn't the woman whose picture he had been staring at for all those years!

She gave out a low satisfied moan and suddenly collapsed into his arms. 

"I think you're great kisser. Not that I've kissed anyone else to compare..." She was slowly drifting off into a sleep.

He lifted her up and gently laid her on the couch. She rolled into her side and her short tight dress rode upwards. He took his coat off and put it over her.

He stared at the girl sleeping on the couch. As much as he didn't believe in Angels and Soulmates, neither did he want to believe that ARGUS' information was right.

Either way, he knew he was in trouble. His only hope was Felicity was too drunk to remember what he had done. Even if she did remember, he would have to convince her that it was one of those a spur of the moment things. Because, it really couldn't be anything more. Because, he had only just met her. Because, he was supposed to be in love with Laurel Lance. Felicity had said so herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the wonderful and amazing KarenfrmMD for going over this chapter.

"What's that?" Oliver heard Felicity ask as he turned a corner to the kitchen.

The angel was in his t-shirt again, sitting at the kitchen table with her head bowed down. Her eyes were hidden under a pair of shades, which Oliver presumed she may have borrowed from his sister.

Given the fact that last night, he had done something he probably should not have, he was curious to see, if and how Felicity would react to him.

"This is the famous Queen Family hangover cure." Thea put a glass in front of the blonde. "And, don't ask me what's in it, because it's a secret."

At first, neither one of the girls seemed to have noticed him standing in the kitchen doorway. Felicity simply muttered something about secrets and took her very first sip of the hangover cure. Oliver smiled, watching her make a sour face at its taste. If he remembered correctly, it was one of the worst things he had ever tasted. But, it did do its job.

Felicity lifted her head and looked his way for a second. Her tousled hair sat on her head like a blonde mop. "Ah my head hurts!" she complained and proceeded to stare at the glass in her hands.

She didn't lash at him about the kissing incident at the foundry, as he had been expecting her to. The girl seemed to have forgotten all about it. Surprisingly, Oliver found himself feeling oddly disappointed than relieved by her lack of a reaction.

"Look who's here!" Thea greeted him with a bitter grin. She still seemed infuriated by the fact that he had her thrown out of the club and sent her home last night.

"Good morning to you, too." Oliver was worried that if he lingered there for too long staring at the blonde, Thea would somehow catch onto what had happened between Felicity and him. So, he walked passed the kitchen table in the pretense of wanting to pour himself a cupof coffee.

"Ollie, come sit with us!" Thea shrieked and Felicity began to whine once more about how her head felt like it was about to explode. The younger Queen, being the very considerate friend she was she immediately lowered her voice. "Felicity and I made a plan yesterday," she told him proudly. "Don't you want to know what it's about?"

"Why do I feel like that I don't have a choice?" Oliver lazily walked over to them with his mug.

"Because you don't!" Thea put on a playful smile.

"I'm never going to touch another shot of tequila again!" Felicity vowed before taking another sip from the hangover cure.

Oliver smiled inwardly at her pledge. More so because he remembered her tasting like tequila, the night before.

"Sit!" Thea patted the chair next to her.

Oliver followed his sister's order just like a good brother, who had to somehow make it up to his sister for throwing her out of his club.

"So, you know that there's a charity function slash snobby rich people party next week, right?" Thea asked.

"Yeah?" He drank his coffee with his eyes on the blonde seated in front of him. He wondered if she really had forgotten about the kiss or if she was trying to avoid the subject altogether. He really couldn't tell. Her shades were not permitting him to read her.

Maybe she would bring it up, perhaps later. When she wasn't so hung-over. Maybe if Thea wasn't there.

"You're going to ask Laurel to be your date at the event!" Felicity said excitedly. "You'll dance with her. You'll make her laugh…."

"And you'll make a big fat donation and then she'll see that you're not the old Oliver," Thea added.

"And she'll fall in love with you all over again and my job will be done! And I'll be able to keep my wings!" Felicity high-fived an equally enthusiastic Thea.

Oliver placed his mug upon the table. "Sorry to disappoint you two, but there's a big loophole in your perfect little plan."

The girls' energy dropped to nil. "Which is?" Thea's forehead creased with few worried lines.

"Laurel thinks I'm dating your new best friend over here," Oliver pointed at Felicity. Truth be told, he liked the change Felicity's presence had brought about in Thea. It was nice to see Thea happy and back to her bubbly self again. Who knew all it would take was for a crazy blonde girl, claiming to be an angel, to show up.

"This is bad… really really bad… really really really bad," the angel chanted.

"But, why would she think that?" Thea sounded utterly distraught. She had taken the whole soulmate mission too seriously than Oliver had thought she would. Certainly, this seemed a far more important project to her than turning a stray cat into a princess.

"Because, someone here insinuated that I'm sleeping with her." He finally finished his coffee and set his stare on Felicity again.

"But I am sleeping with you! I slept with you even last night!" Felicity pointed out, eyeing him with the most puzzled expression.

She wasn't completely wrong. Technically, she was right. She did sleep with him and still was sleeping with him.

He had truly meant to let her sleep in a different room last night. But, he felt that he needed to keep a closer eye on her just in case she really would end up being some IT girl called Felicity Smoak spying on the vigilante. He would be a fool to ever completely dismiss the possibility of Felicity the Angel turning out to be Felicity the IT girl. Both of them having the same first name had to be more than just a coincidence.

Hence, she had ended up 'sleeping' with him one more night. But, in the more pure sense of the word. "I don't think that's the kind of 'sleep' Laurel thought you were referring to."

"Oh? What other kind of sleeping is there?" Felicity took off her shades and put it aside. From the way she was squinting, her eyes still appeared to be sensitive to the light.

Thea gaped at the bewildered girl sitting beside her. "Don't tell me they don't teach you those things at Angel School or whatever?"

"What things?" Felicity's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what her new friend had meant.

"And, here I thought the hardest thing I would ever have to teach you would be to, how to find that perfect pair of shoes!" Thea then leaned into Felicity's ear and began to whisper something.

Felicity's face went red and her eyes got wider at what she was hearing. Oliver guessed his little sister had to be briefing the blonde about the birds and the bees. "I think I need a refill." He subtly got up and went looking for the coffee pot.

"Eh… I knew that… What? I didn't know it was called that! Does it hurt? Really?" The blonde was saying and Oliver found her responses to whatever Thea was telling, to be very entertaining. He poured some coffee on to the mug and positioned himself in a place where he could easily study her expressions. Either she was a completely clueless angel or she was an IT girl pulling off an Oscar worthy performance. All the same, he enjoyed watching her.

"So, that's why you have to be safe!" Thea concluded her little talk.

Felicity nodded, her mouth turned into a perfect little 'O'.

"So, I guess that this all means we'll have to scratch the old plan and come up with a new one?" Thea sighed loudly and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket nearby. "I have to go and get ready for school now." She stood up and pointed a finger at Oliver. "And, you! Don't be mean to her!"

Felicity looked up at Thea with immense gratitude for threatening him on her behalf. However, he just grinned in reply and continued to coolly drink his second mug of hot coffee.

"I'll see you both later. I'm getting late!" Munching on the apple Thea hurried out of the kitchen.

Once his sister was gone, Felicity got up and crept towards him, her bare feet softly padding against the tiled floor. Oliver wasn't sure, but her t-shirt suddenly seemed even shorter than he remembered.

"Thank you." She stopped and leaned onto the counter across from him.

"For what?" He put the mug on the counter behind.

She moved forward a step. "Last night, at the club... I wasn't in my right mind and…" She paused, struggling to find the words and Oliver's was straightaway reminded of 'The Kiss'.

"I think I remember you saving me from some… guy." Her eyes wavered as though she was too embarrassed to look at him directly. But still, her feet moved her forward. "I don't remember all that much about last night, but I do remember that much. Well, I think I remember most of it."

He was curious to learn exactly how much she remembered. He took a stride towards her and ended up barely a foot away from her. "Most of it?"

"Some of it…" she mumbled shyly, and stepped back.

"Some of it?" He took a longer stride and managed to lessen the gap even more.

"Eh… bits and pieces…" She moved back further and bumped into the counter behind.

"Hmm?" He noticed a slight bruise on her forehead, half veiled by her curly blonde hair. It seemed the little scrape she had gotten the other night at Glades, had almost healed, but not quite. Thea's cleverly applied makeup seemed to have kept it concealed from him last night. He closed the gap and gently moved a few strands of her hair aside. "Does it still hurt?" He still felt at fault for what had happened and almost happened to her that night. If not for Detective Lance's phone call, Felicity may not have survived with just a fading scar on her forehead.

"Just a little." The sound of her voice was so faint, it barely reached his ear.

It didn't take long for his stare to wander off from her forehead to the blue eyes gazing at him. He was standing too close to this woman, who could be anyone but who she was claiming to be and he just could not step away. He just could not stop wondering, what was it about the blonde that had him feeling so confused.

"Oliver… I… I wanted … to… ask something…" she started to speak and his eyes at once fell to her lips. The ones, which he so vividly remembered kissing just a few hours ago.

"Oliver… Oliver?" He could hear another female voice calling him from behind. Yet, he could not bring himself to tear his eyes away from Felicity. Perhaps, not only she was an angel, she had magical powers, too. Why else would he be so fascinated by someone like her?

"Oliver!"

Felicity jumped a little in shock when that same voice shouted his name and he eventually turned to the voice.

"Mom? I thought you weren't coming home for another three days?" Oliver was no doubt surprised to see her there. Yet, he welcomed the interruption. For the first time ever, he was somewhat relieved that his mother had caught him with a girl in their house. She just may have prevented a catastrophic event from taking place.

"Hmm… I can see that you weren't expecting me," his mother said, analyzing Felicity from head to toe.

"I'm Felicity," the young girl mumbled, trying to hide behind him.

Oliver grabbed Felicity by the elbow and began to steer her out of the room. "She's a friend and she was just leaving!" More than anything else, he was afraid that any moment now Felicity would begin to babble about she being an angel.

"Dressed like that?" His mother raised a brow at Felicity's not so modest attire.

"I was… this is..." Felicity warily yanked her t-shirt down.

"Mom, I'll see you later." Oliver quickly dragged Felicity away, out of the kitchen before things turned worse.

Felicity glanced back as they ran up the stairs. "I don't think your mother likes me very much."

Oliver pitied the girl. It wasn't her fault. Moira Queen looked at everyone suspiciously. More in particularly, at the girls that Oliver brought home with him. To be fair, the girls he usually brought home, were never the kind a mother would approve of. And, who was to say that Felicity too could be trusted.

For once, she didn't have to be told to get ready. Just as Oliver opened the door to his room, she ran in and rummaged through the clothes she had bought yesterday. Then, when she finally found something that she liked, she dashed off into the bathroom.

He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her to come out. She was taking too long and his patience was starting to run out. If they stayed there any longer, he may have to face his mother again. And he did not wish to try and explain to her who Felicity really was. Not that he had any real clue as to who she really was, either.

Just when he was about to go and knock on the door, she finally emerged. The blue dress she had on, fitted her nicely and it stopped right above her knee. Her heels made her legs seem even longer and leaner. She had her hair up, tied into a ponytail. He thought she looked more like Felicity Megan Smoak on that photograph now, than she ever did. The only thing missing were the glasses.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, smoothing off few imaginary wrinkles in her dress.

"No…Nothing's wrong…" He walked passed her into the bathroom.

Half an hour or so later, they were both ready and on their way to the foundry.

Amid her protests, Oliver blindfolded Felicity again. If she couldn't remember the kiss, that may also mean that she had no memory of the vigilante's secret lair, being at the basement of the club. He was not about risk revealing the whereabouts of the hideout, needlessly. Maintaining the secrecy of the hideout was as vital as maintaining the secrecy of his identity.

However, to stop her nagging he bought her breakfast. Along with a little cup of chocolate mint chip ice cream for her to eat at the foundry.

Oliver stopped the car in the alley behind the club and took Felicity inside the lair.

He wanted to find out whether the girl was as clueless about computers as she seemed to be about many other things. With the hope that something would entice her to use the computer, he deliberately made her sit on the large chair placed in front of the computer station.

After handing her the ice cream cup, he took the blindfolds off. "Stay here!" he ordered and she stared at him like a lost puppy. He heard that little voice in his head, which apparently sounded like his sister, telling him to stop being so mean towards her. "Stay here…" he told again, but in a much calmer voice.

"Hmm…" She agreed as she blissfully opened the ice cream cup.

Leaving the blonde to enjoy her favorite meal by herself, he turned to the salmon ladder. He took his shirt off and began to climb it one level at a time. Whenever he would climb a notch he would glance down at the girl sitting in front of the computers. Just to check if she was attempting to use the computer at all.

It would have been easier if he could just use the lie detector on her again. But, he didn't trust the machine anymore. Its reliability was now lost on him. How can he trust a machine that implied Angels were real?

He looked at her. He wasn't that surprised to see her not even remotely interested in the machinery. She simply kept spinning in her chair and eating her ice cream, while humming a tune she had made up herself.

However, now and again, he would catch her eyes on him. Yet, whenever their eyes would meet she would turn her eyes at something else.

Oliver went one more notch up on the ladder and looked for Felicity again, just as he had done for the last five minutes. But, he couldn't find her near the computers anymore. Instead, she was standing right below the salmon ladder, staring up at him.

"Oliver, I… I wanted to ask you something important," she said, drawing patterns on the floor with her foot.

"What?" He let go of the ladder and dropped to the floor, landing inches away from her.

She visibly sucked in a breath and looked momentarily distracted by something.

Her hesitancy made him think that maybe she was trying to talk about the infamous kiss. "What do you want to talk about?" He shifted his weight from one foot to another as if to ready himself.

She slowly lifted her head and fixed her eyes on his. "I wanted to know if… you..." She stopped short again.

He gazed into her clear blue eyes. "If I what?" His voice came off softer than he had wanted it to.

"If you would mind teaching me how to shoot an arrow? I mean, I know how to. I know the basics. But, I can't really make it go where I want it to go. When I shoot, the arrows seem to have a mind of their own... I would really like to know how to shoot like you. Maybe not like you. I don't think I can ever be as good as you. Eh… great as you," she managed to say all of it in just one breath.

"And, why would I do that? What would I get out of that?" he groaned as he walked away from the girl. He was trying hard to not to be too angry at the fact that, this was what she had wanted to talk about, 'Archery Lessons!'

He could hear her heels click against the concrete floor as she followed him around the foundry. "Because I'm helping you get back with Laurel," she reasoned with him.

He stopped and turned to her. "That's because you don't want to be an Elf!" As far as he knew, she was doing this for her own benefit.

"That's true…" she admitted without hesitation. "But, how about this?" Her eyes lit up. A triumphant smile began to play on her lips at whatever idea she had come up with. "If you teach me how to shoot an arrow, I won't ask you for any mint chip ice cream for a week?"

He gave out a short little, almost inaudible chuckle. "Really? That's the big sacrifice you're willing to make? You will just ask Dig or Thea!"

"No, I won't!" she argued, advancing another step.

He smiled, looking at the girl's determined face. "Ok… let's make it ten days then?" What harm could it do? Well, of course, there was always that chance that she was some woman that had some sort of a secret agenda. And she may have wanted to learn archery from him, just so she could kill him with one of his own arrows.

Yet, in spite of it all his doubts, he was still willing to take that gamble. Mostly because he felt it would be fun to see the angel struggle to keep her promise. And he wasn't going to make it easy for her to keep it either. "Deal?" he asked.

She began to bite on her fingernails. "Ten days?" She didn't look so sure about it now. The girl was crazy about ice cream. It would be hard for her to give it up for even a day, let alone ten.

"I think that's fair. You'll have the skill to shoot an arrow your whole life. And all you have to do is, not to eat ice cream for just ten days. Actually, I think it's more than fair," he explained to her.

"Ok," she agreed, but not so confidently. "So, when do my lessons start?"

"Right now!" He strolled across the room and grabbed a bow and his quiver from the trunk. "Let's first see how bad you are." He threw the bow at her.

She caught the bow just before it fell in front of her feet. "Ok," she said as she inspected the bow closely.

Oliver then went over to her. He draped the quiver over her shoulder and it dangled on her small frame. He turned her around from her shoulders and directed her attention to the closest target. "Try to hit that target over there."

She took an arrow out and pulled it through its string. With the arrow head pointed at the target, she dragged string up to her nose. Her posture wasn't bad, but it wasn't perfect either. He couldn't pinpoint as to what exactly it was, but he felt something very peculiar seeing her wearing the quiver and aiming an arrow.

She released the arrow and it ended up a couple of feet off target. She huffed irritated by her failed attempt.

He took the bow from her and took out an arrow from the quiver hanging on her shoulder. "Watch me!" He strung the arrow to the bow and slowed down his movements so that she could study him. "Keep this hand steady, and concentrate on the target… and –"

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Felicity's nervous figure quietly approaching him. "Oliver, can I ask you something else?"

"No!" He was annoyed at her for not letting him finish his lesson and for breaking his concentration.

Yet, she asked anyway. "Who changed my clothes last night? Did you…"

"Raisa helped!" he answered as he released the arrow. To no one's surprise, it hit the target perfectly. "Now you try." He handed the bow back to her.

She drew out another arrow and took her stance. Her pose seemed worse than it did the first time.

"No, hold it like this." He straightened her shoulders, lifted her hands and head. When he took a step back and checked on her posture, he realized that she was standing very rigidly with her feet too close together. Her hold was still too tense. He went from behind and tried to make her loosen her fingers. "Just relax." He pushed her feet a bit more apart with his foot.

"Oliver…" Felicity turned her face to him and until then, he hadn't realized how intimately they had been standing. He hadn't realized how close their faces were until her soft cheek gently brushed against his stubble.

"Hmm?" He couldn't say anything much. Suddenly, he had become too conscious of the way she was leaning against him. The way the ends of her ponytail was tickling his bare chest. He had this urge to pull her even closer to him and he supposed it was purely because she smelt like his favorite ice cream. He believed that there could be no other reason to it than that.

"Can I ask you something?" She was shuddering slightly in his arms.

"No!" He wasn't in the mood to answer anything. He kept her hand still on the bow and didn't let her move.

Once more, she disregarded his response. "In the morning… about me sleeping with you… Eh about what Thea told me… not that I didn't know anything. I mean, I work for Cupid, so I did know some of the things, but I didn't know all of it," she babbled, as she tried to free herself.

"Now you know all of it?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Most of it..." her voice was timid and afraid.

"Most of it?" He felt as though they were about to resume that strange dance they were performing at the kitchen, before his mother so wisely interrupted.

But her response to his simple question changed the beat of the whole conversation. "Not enough to understand why you kissed me last night."

He let her hand go and the arrow struck more than a couple of inches away from the bull's-eye.

"I didn't remember until a while ago. Not until you put your arms around me and asked to me to relax. I don't know why that made me remember, but it did." Her eyes batted like crazy as she tried to clarify herself. "So? Why did you do it? I don't really remember what happened right before the kiss."

He moved a couple of strides backwards and created some room between them. She quickly spun around to face him and the excuse he had been practicing since last night, was completely forgotten.

The whole morning, he had been wondering when or if she would remember the kiss. But, now that the topic was out in the open, he felt utterly unprepared to face it. "I was… You were talking too much. And I just wanted to stop you from talking." He knew it may have been the lamest excuse ever, but there was nothing he could do about it now. His poor excuse was already floating in the air between them. He had planned to say that he had kissed her because she had wondered out aloud about what it would feel like to kiss someone, and he had merely tried to satisfy her curiosity. However, he had forgotten all about that excuse and muttered some nonsense like some kind of a bumbling idiot.

"I do talk too much sometimes. Maybe every time I open my mouth." Thankfully, the naïve girl seemed to have bought his story. "So, did it work?" She stepped towards him, eager to know his answer.

"I guess..." Hopefully that answer would be enough to put a full stop to the whole 'Kiss' topic, forever.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" She took another tentative step forward.

"Would you stop, even if I said No?"

She took one more stride and she was again in his personal space. "Will you promise to answer me honestly?"

"Ok. What do you want to know?" he agreed without taking a second to think it over. Perhaps it was because the word 'No' hadn't worked on her the whole day and he was exhausted.

"These scars, do they still hurt? Like my one?" Her index finger reached to touch one of the scars. But, she folded her finger, deciding against it and her hand dropped to her side again.

He wanted to tell her everything, and at the same time he didn't want her to know a thing about his horrid past. But he had promised her. "They are just… mementos of my past I rather forget. They don't hurt, but the memories… each one of them reminds me of someone who died because of me or people who I killed and…" He paused, noticing that toes of Felicity high heeled shoes were touching the toes of his shoes. Before he could say anything more, he felt her lips ever so faintly caressing his own. His hands hovered around her waist, unsure whether he should touch her not.

She then put her tiny right palm over his fast beating heart and pushed him slightly, breaking the kiss. It may not have lasted for more than a couple of seconds, but he felt a flicker of electricity surge through every vein in his body.

"Why did you do that for?" Oliver seized Felicity forcefully by her arm and she involuntarily came closer to him. He couldn't decide what he was angrier about, letting her kiss him or letting her stop.

She seemed as surprised by her own actions as he was. Her hand ran up to her lips as if to confirm to herself that their lips really did touch and it was no dream. "You looked like you didn't want to talk about your scars. But you were, because I made you promise. So, I thought I'd just stop you from talking… like you did for me… It looks like it worked. I think?"

He just glared at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. No one could ever be so innocent. No one could ever fall for his stupid lie so much so to silence him with a kiss. It had to be a trick. Now, more than ever, he suspected her to be a scheming stalker IT girl, with a plan to seduce him.

He didn't know how else to react, but to just let her babble her way out of it.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what I was thinking. I won't do it again. I promise. I won't kiss you ever again," she promised and he felt an unexplainable pang in his chest listening to her. He released her from his grasp.

"I think I'll just…" Without finishing her sentence she ran off to the restroom.

"What was all that about?" Diggle grumbled from behind.

Oliver hadn't even noticed his friend come into the lair. "Nothing!" He walked away from him in attempt to avoid the conversation.

"It didn't look like it was nothing?" But Diggle didn't seem to want to drop the topic just yet.

"Trust me, it was nothing." Oliver was trying to convince himself rather than he was trying to convince Diggle.

Oliver Queen may not have been living the most perfect life before the girl without a last name dropped into his life out of nowhere. But he had gotten used to that life. He was not ready to let this blonde, without a past, change everything. She had already changed enough. From his sleeping habits to making him rethink about how he dealt with the criminals on his father's list. He wasn't going to let this little incident change something too. It couldn't. He wouldn't let it.

"Be careful, man… She's…"

"You don't have to remind me, Dig. I know we don't know who she is. She could be a spy. She could be working for some secret agency. She could be a crazy stalker girl like you said." She could also be the angel who was supposed to bring him and Laurel together. 'Laurel' the only woman he cared for almost half of his life. He knew all of it all too well. He truly didn't need anyone else to hound him with all of that. "You don't have to remind me, because it was nothing!"

"You're forgetting one thing, Oliver. She could also be some innocent girl that shouldn't be involved in any of this … or you! It's good that she's getting you to reevaluate what you're doing with your life but… don't…"

He hated Diggle sometimes. He always had a point. "She'll be gone in three months!" Oliver claimed.  _"_ And I thought you knew me better than that by now." Diggle had to have got it all wrong, for once. She wasn't his type anyway. Other than both of them being huge fans of the same flavor of ice cream, they had nothing in common. Oliver Queen liked leggy model, brunettes. Not cute, babbling blondes that apparently had fallen down from heaven.

"I do and that's why I'm worried." Diggle's cryptic words confused him more. It was harder to understand who Diggle was trying to protect, the unknown blonde girl hiding in the restroom of the foundry or his vigilante friend.

"Whatever happens she will be gone in three months," Oliver assured his friend.

After or during those three months, she would be exposed as either a friend or a foe, and he was determined to keep her as just that.

"And I hope you will keep that in mind," Diggle warned before walking away to the training mats.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, went out yesterday. I wasn't planning to. But, it was a holiday where I live so, I went out with my friends and I couldn't update. 
> 
> So I'll be updating two chapters today.
> 
> Here's the first one, and I'll post the next one in a short while
> 
> Thanks so much for my beta karenfrmMD

Felicity took one last look from the old faded mirror in the changing room. Even in the bad lighting, her shimmering gold dress looked perfect on her. Her makeup looked alright. She had done everything exactly as Thea had taught her. She had let a few locks of hair dropped to her shoulders and had a hairpin clipped on one side, right above her left ear. She puckered her lips and applied a bit more of the raspberry lip-gloss, before opening the door.

Her eyes sought after Oliver Queen, her date for the charity ball. She eventually found him standing near the salmon ladder, under a bright blue light. He looked handsome in his tuxedo, but it wasn't anything new. He looked good in anything.

"How do I look?" She did a little spin on her heels, looking at the way her evening dress twirled around with her.

He didn't answer her. He just stared. She had seen the same intensity in his eyes before, right after she had stupidly kissed him last week. And occasionally, she would catch a slight glimpse of that same look during her archery lessons. But, he would always manage to quickly mask it with some other expression.

"Like someone, who's ready to make a billionaire's ex-girlfriend jealous," Diggle replied from behind and Felicity heard Oliver retort to his partner's words with a low grumble.

"I hope so." She nervously fixed the little bracelet in her hand. According to Thea, pretending to be Oliver's girlfriend, to make Laurel jealous, was a better plan than what they had originally planned to do. Felicity wasn't so confident about this new plan of theirs. However, the younger Queen had insisted upon it.

The only reason Oliver had agreed to go through with any of it, was to catch some crook that was said to make an appearance at the same charity function. "Shall we get going then?" Oliver inserted some kind of a device into his ear.

"I'll go and bring the limo around." Diggle put his coat on and went out the secret exit.

"Felicity…" Oliver came forward towards her.

"Hmm?" She stood still, watching him approach her. The blue light, which was now behind him silhouetted his perfect human body. She fanned herself with her hand, inwardly blaming the foundry lights and the poor ventilation system for the sudden wave of heat she felt.

He stopped right before her. "I have something for you." There was a chain with a small heart shaped locket dangling in his hand.

She gently touched the delicate piece of jewelry. "For me?" She couldn't believe Oliver, of all people, was giving something to her. That, too, a gold chain with a beautiful locket.

"Turn around. I'll put it on for you." He merely had to touch her elbow and she had already turned. She felt the tips of his fingers barely touch the bare skin of her back, as he moved her hair to the side. Her skin tingled where his hand made contact and her heart skipped a couple of beats.

It was only when she felt the cold metal of the chain around her neck, she was able to compose herself and stammer a 'Thank you'.

"Don't lose it," he advised her as he linked the two ends of the gold chain together.

She turned around with her hand on the locket. "I won't," she promised. She would not even dare take it off.

Oliver gave her a little, but a sincere smile. "Let's go. Diggle must be waiting for us." He walked off first and she followed him, playing with the new piece of jewelry on her neck.

She tried to open the locket to see what was inside. It didn't budge at all. So, she decided to just let the locket be.

She was thankful that Oliver had given up on the whole 'putting blindfolds on her' thing. Not out of compassion or because he trusted her. It was merely because she had told him that she now remembered, entering his secret hideout through a staircase at Verdant.

Finding out the location of the foundry was one of the few, or maybe the only good thing to have transpired from her drunken misadventures last week. It meant she could enjoy the limo rides, without pleading with him or Diggle to take the blindfolds off.

Their limo arrived at Starling Grand hotel within half an hour. "I'll see you both later," Diggle said as the limo slowly came to a halt in front of the hotel.

Oliver gave some kind of a silent signal to Diggle and got out of the vehicle first. "Felicity?" He gave her his hand and helped her out of the limo.

When she stepped out, she saw a swarm of people standing behind a rope with cameras in their hands. Harsh camera lights began to flash on her face as the sound of camera shutters going off filled her ears. She put a hand up to her face to block the lights. People started to shout things and ask her things she couldn't really make out. Feeling overwhelmed by the chaos around her, she took a step back.

Oliver's hand landed somewhere near the small of her back and stopped her from moving back any further. "It's alright. Just don't look at them. Don't listen to them." He removed her hand from her face and leaned closer to her. "Just walk with me and smile."

She plastered on a smile, just as he had asked. His voice calmed her down, but at the same time, it awoke a feeling she didn't know how to describe.

"Let's go in," he said softly into her ear, guiding her forward with his hand that rested on her back.

She took tentative strides along the red carpet spread on the ground. She felt her focus slowly shift from the flashing lights, to his warm hand on her back.

By the time they reached the stairs, Felicity realized that she wouldn't be able to put her mind at anything else other than his hand, even if she were to try. The lights and the noise were long forgotten. All she could think about was his hand.

Just when they were about to enter the lobby of the building, Thea popped up from nowhere. She was happily hanging on to the arm of a young man. "What took you two so long?" she muttered.

Oliver eyed the young man standing with Thea just as his mother had eyed Felicity that morning in the kitchen. "Thea, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" He took his hand off from Felicity's waist. She instantly let out a sigh as though she had been holding her breath all this while.

"Oh, sorry… Ollie, this is Roy, my date. Roy, this is Oliver and Felicity. And, don't worry, Roy knows everything," Thea said in haste.

Roy's hands dove into his pockets and his shoulders dropped. "Hey," he greeted, chancing a glance at his date's older brother.

Thea had told Felicity of the story behind Roy Harper. He was the red hooded boy, who tried to steal her purse, but had stolen her heart in the process. Felicity thought their story was one of the cutest stories ever and she had a feeling that one of her angel friends may have had something to do with it. "Oh, so you're Roy!" Felicity smiled with the slightly edgy young man.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Oliver glare at her. His mouth opened a little bit as if he wanted to ask her something. Probably, how she knew the man. But instead, he turned to Roy Harper. "So, Roy, what do you do? Are you in college? Do you have a job?"

"I'm still trying to..." Roy stumbled, his eyes straying to Thea for help.

"Let's just go in quickly, without wasting time interrogating my date! Laurel is already here. And, if I'm not mistaken, she's the person we all should be focusing on right now!" Thea said as she drew Roy towards the corridor leading to the main ballroom. "I have a feeling everything is going to go well today," she sang merrily.

"Is mom here?" Oliver's hand once more returned to its previous position on Felicity's back. Her breath hitched in her throat, feeling his hand through the very thin layer of fabric. But, he just coolly walked along with her, seemingly unaware what his touch was doing to her.

"No, Mom said she has to discuss something important with Walter. He's apparently in some kind of a business meeting in Australia or Austria or somewhere. And she wants to talk to him as soon as the meeting is over." Thea took out a piece of paper from her clutch and waved it over her head. "She told me to give this check to the charity on behalf of the Queen family."

"That's good!" Felicity beamed, as she strutted along with the group. "I mean, not the fact your mom isn't here, but the fact that you're donating money." But, who was she kidding? She was more than glad that Moira Queen wasn't attending the event. She could stills remember the harsh judgmental tone in Moira Queen's voice. And then there was her gaze. Her stare was cold to the point, where Felicity felt a chill just by thinking about it.

"So, Felicity, I hope you like the hotel you're staying in. Is the food there any good?" Roy asked as they all entered a long hallway.

Felicity chuckled uneasily. "Ah… yeah, it's alright," she lied, looking sideways at Oliver. He grinned back at her looking equally tense.

She hadn't been staying in any hotel. In fact, ever since Moira had returned home, Felicity had been stuck inside the vigilante's secret lair. She only got to go outside with Thea, and now and again, with Diggle to Big Belly Burger for lunch.

Thea had no clue whatsoever that she had been spending the nights at the foundry alone. Not exactly alone though. Oliver would normally stay there until it was close to midnight and he would then return very early in the morning with breakfast. Some days, both Oliver and Diggle would be there till early hours of the morning, working on some mission or another. So she wasn't completely alone, most of the time.

She hated lying to Thea. But she had no choice. She had to protect Oliver's secret.

"Here we are then," Thea said as she and Roy entered a large doorway.

Felicity too, stepped in through the threshold, Oliver's hand ever present on the small of her back. "It's beautiful!" She gazed in awe at the elegantly decorated ballroom. Glittery chandeliers hung from the high ceiling and silk drapes fell over the walls. Few people were dancing in the middle to a piano. Some were just mingling with champagne flutes and martinis in their hands.

"So, are you ready?" Thea clasped her hands together.

"Yes. I think so…" Felicity was in no way ready. She didn't know how to make another woman jealous. But, if that was what she had to do to get her wings back, she was willing to put in all her best efforts.

"Remember what I told you. Eye contact is the key!" Thea repeated Felicity of what she had been teaching her the whole day yesterday.

"Ok, eye contact… eye contact," Felicity recited the words few more times and looked over at Oliver. He seemed preoccupied. He kept looking over the heads of the other guests. Perhaps, searching for the crook he was after or perhaps for Laurel.

"Ollie!" Thea waved her hand in front of Oliver's face to get his attention. "You have to act like you're deeply and madly in love with Felicity. Or else, this won't work. Ok?"

"Ok. Ok! I got it," he replied, setting his eyes yet again on the crowd before them.

"Roy and I are going to go over there," Thea pointed at a table in the corner. "Laurel is in here somewhere. So, you two just dance, enjoy, pretend to be in love!" With that last bit of advice Thea hooked her arm on Roy's. "So, Mr. Harper shall we?"

Roy gave Thea a smile and looked over at Felicity. "Good luck, Felicity!" he winked as he vanished with his date, into the sea of unknown faces.

"Diggle, any sign of Fernandez?" Oliver pressed on the little device on his ear.

Felicity couldn't hear what Diggle was saying. Although, by the disappointment she saw on Oliver's face, she gathered that Mr. Fernandez had not turned up yet. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. Let's go dance," he said, catching her wrist and taking her to the middle of the room.

Once they were amid the crowd, he spun her around and drew her towards him. She collided against his strong torso, almost knocking the wind out of her lungs.

With his face still focused on his mission, he held her right hand in his left. She hesitated for a second and placed her left hand on his shoulder. His right arm went around her waist and she flinched a little feeling a tad ticklish.

He then began to sway with her to the slow music. Unfortunately, even after Thea's coaching and watching all those movie clips, it was not easy for her to stop herself from stepping on Oliver's foot. "Sorry! I guess I should have asked you to teach me how to do this dance, too?"

His stoic expression faded and his lips curved into a smile. He looked down at her, something playful gleaming in his eyes. "Would you have been willing to go without your favorite ice cream for ten more days?"

She pouted. Past seven days had been torture and she still had three more days left to go. If she had to go for another ten days without chocolate mint chip ice cream, she was sure she would die. More particularly, if Oliver continued to taunt her by eating her favorite ice cream in front of her, as he had done the past week, she would definitely die.

"I thought so," his smile grew wider.

She was completely entranced by him and his beautiful smile. It was rare to see Oliver smile so openly, wholeheartedly and she loved it.

Sadly, the smile didn't last long. His attention went back to the listening device in his ear. "Dig, did you find anything?" He carefully examined the room and heaved a heavy sigh in response to whatever Diggle had said.

"Nothing yet?" she asked.

"It seems Mr. Fernandez is not going to show up tonight. He seems to have somehow found out that we're on to him." He sounded utterly defeated.

Living in the foundry for all those hours had made Felicity understand many things. One of which was, it was not easy to sleep in the old worn out couch in the foundry for eight hours straight. But, more importantly, she had realized how rigorously Oliver worked to capture the criminals on his father's list.

She felt bad for him. If there was anything she could have done to help him find this Fernandez guy, she would have. But, all she knew to do at that moment, was to say a few encouraging words. "You don't know for sure. We haven't been here that long. He might still show up and you might still be able to get him."

His stare fell on her. He squeezed her hand slightly and gave a little nod to show his gratitude towards her little attempt to cheer him.

Unable to hold his gaze for long, Felicity looked elsewhere. She spotted a very timely scapegoat. "Look, your Laurel!"

The brunette was dancing with a raven haired man. Her gown flowed like a silvery cloud as she danced. She was beautiful, graceful. No wonder Oliver was in love with her. Or, was supposed to be.

He gripped Felicity's hand even harder. However, now it was for a different reason altogether than before. It was because of Laurel. Because she was dancing in the arms of another man.

"What's Tommy doing here?" His shoulder tensed up under her hand.

Felicity fixed her eyes upon the tall, handsome man dancing with Laurel. This was the first time she had seen Tommy Merlyn, Oliver's childhood friend and business partner. She had heard Oliver speak of him, but never had he made an effort to introduce him to her. It had something to do with things getting complicated if Tommy found out that Oliver had been hiding an angel in the basement of Verdant. Among many other things he had been hiding in there.

According to Oliver, lesser the number of people knew about her existence, was for the better.

"Does it mean that things are going to get more complicated now?" She searched Oliver's worried face for an answer.

He didn't offer her a reply. He simply watched Laurel dance with his friend.

Felicity suddenly remembered her young teacher's advice. 'Keep eye contact' Thea had repeated it to her like a mantra. Since Laurel Lance was now in their scope, it seemed like the ideal time to execute their plan. So she stood on the toes of her heels and tried to make eye contact with Oliver.

He looked rather bemusedly at her. "Felicity, what are you doing?"

"Trying to make eye contact with you. I mean, like Thea said. To make Laurel jealous." She continued to try and meet his eyes as they danced.

He laughed, moving them both few steps to the left to the rhythm of the music. "You won't be making anyone jealous by doing that." He took her hands and draped them over his neck. "Let me show you how to make it look like you're deeply in love with someone." His strong hands landed on her hips and tugged her closer, removing any and every space there was between them.

Her heart thumped hard against her chest. Her knees went weak. It was a miracle she was moving her legs at all.

She looked to the crowd to check if anyone had noticed the deep blush she felt creep over her cheeks. "I don't think this is what Thea meant… I mean, this might be what she meant, but everyone else is…"

He placed a deft kiss upon her cheek, stopping her mid ramble. "Felicity…" He turned her face to him by her chin. "Eye contact," he whispered in a deep husky voice and snaked his arms around her waist.

She stared into his mischief ridden eyes, trying to ignore the searing mark his lips had left on her cheek. He held on to her waist firmly, as if he was afraid she would run away. She may have, if only she had the strength to look away from his brilliant blue eyes.

Slowly but surely, as seconds passed, Oliver's playful expression changed into something more serious and intense. Was he still pretending? Was he really that great of an actor? Or was she still inept in identifying the difference between real feelings and fake ones? She was confused beyond compare. If it weren't for her promise to never kiss him again, she wasn't sure what she would have done.

"Hey!" came a voice from nearby.

Yet, Felicity wasn't willing to break 'eye contact'. She didn't know for certain, but Oliver didn't seem so keen on the idea either. However, when the voice called them for a second time they both had to turn their heads.

"Hi, Felicity," Oliver's soulmate greeted her with a gentle, pleasant smile.

"Laurel? Tommy?" Oliver's hands left Felicity's waist at once.

"Hey…" Felicity knew Laurel showing up at that moment was probably for the best, for so many reasons. But, she couldn't truly snub off the sting she felt in her chest as her hands slowly slid off of Oliver's shoulders.

"I thought you said you had to take care of something at the club?" Oliver turned to his friend.

"I did. But, Laurel over here, didn't want to come to this thing by herself. So, here I am…" Tommy said, passing Felicity a charming smile. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

Felicity bit on the inside of her cheek. "Uh… maybe at the club?"

Laurel put her hand on her hips, and looked back and forth between her ex-boyfriend and his angel. "You mean to say, Ollie didn't tell you about his angel Felicity either?" she teased.

Felicity adorned a fake smile, her anxious toes curling inside her shoes.

"It's a long story," Oliver promptly answered Tommy's questioning glare.

"I bet." Tommy gave a look, which probably only he and his best friend could understand. "But, I hope you don't mind if I ask your beautiful angel for a dance?" He extended his hand towards Felicity.

Oliver shrugged. "I guess…"

Felicity tilted her head and observed the billionaire. She tried to read what was going on in his mind. He didn't look even remotely sure about his decision to let her go. Was he just afraid that she would somehow babble his secret to his friend? Maybe he was, but something was telling Felicity it wasn't 'just' that.

"Don't worry, Ollie. I'm not going to steal her from you. It's just one dance." Tommy caught Felicity's hand and slowly dragged her away from the two soulmates.

Felicity looked over her shoulder. She saw Oliver and Laurel smile and talk with each other somewhat uneasily. Then, a few words and smiles later, she saw him give her his hand and ask for a dance.

"So, Felicity right?" Tommy held her by her waist and hand ever so lightly. "How long have you and Oliver been seeing each other?" He started to lead her along the floor to the slow song playing.

"Few days… about a week… maybe little more than that." Thea had given Felicity a backstory to practice. However, now, she couldn't really remember any of it. Her mind was occupied elsewhere. It was busy dissecting the way Oliver was dancing with Laurel. The way he was holding her. Her hand in his. Awkwardly moving to the left and to the right. Sharing smiles and glances. This was what she had wanted. She had wanted to somehow, get the two soul mates together. But, something didn't feel right.

"Really? More than a week?" Tommy was either amazed that Oliver had a relationship with someone for so long or he was amazed it was with someone the likes of her. He twirled her around couple of times and she stepped on him more than thrice.

Felicity turned to Tommy just to respond to his question. "Yeah …" She gave him a short quick answer and peeped at the two soulmates, who had danced their way into the left side of the room.

However, what she saw startled her. She caught Oliver's eyes on her. Not on Laurel Lance dancing in his arms, but on her. Her heart raced. She felt dizzy. But, before she could even begin to decipher what his eyes were saying, his focus went back to the brunette dancing with him.

"So, where're you from, Oliver's angel?" Tommy turned them around a little bit.

She slipped on the hardwood floor and her heel broke. Tommy lost control of her and she bumped into one of the servers carrying a tray full of wine. As if the broken heel was not bad enough, one of the wine glasses spilled on her gorgeous silk dress.

"Oh, God!" Someone behind Felicity snickered and she felt as though all eyes were on her. The poor server tried to help, but she tossed his hand away and fled looking for the girl's restroom.

"Felicity!" She heard Tommy's fading voice as she limped her way through the crowd.

Tears pricked in her eyes for no good reason at all.

She burst into the ladies' room and fortunately, no one was there.

She had somehow gotten the ridiculous idea that removing the stain off her dress would somehow magically erase the embarrassment she felt. Her hand moved manically upon the expensive material of her dress as she tried to get rid of the wine stain with a wet tissue.

The stain faded away in a while, but the hurtful feelings lingered.

She heard some voices approach the door and the tissue fell from her hand. She felt like a mess. She wasn't really prepared to face anyone. So she quickly hid in one of the cubicles there.

The door opened and Felicity heard heels enter the restroom. "Did you see that stupid blonde Oliver Queen was with?" A woman groaned.

"Did you see the way she was dancing?" Another woman laughed.

"Oh God, that was so funny!" A third voice commented, snorting out a laugh. "Where do you think Oliver finds these floozies?"

Felicity had no idea what a floozy was, but she thought it can't be anything good.

"He probably brought her from that island he was in." Their nasty laughter echoed within the small room.

Why humans had to be so mean, Felicity couldn't really understand.

Once the laughter died down one of the women spoke again. "Well, that explains why she looked like she did."

"Did he really think he could buy her some expensive clothes and no one will notice that she's just trailer trash!"

Felicity felt the tears she had been holding all this while, slowly creep down her cheeks. She didn't know why those words hurt so much. She shouldn't even care. She wasn't going to be human for long. She wasn't there for anything other than to make Laurel jealous. Any of this shouldn't really matter. But it did. The words hurt.

"She might be thinking she found her prince charming or something. Poor girl… But the reality is, he's going to throw her out once he gets bored with her."

Felicity couldn't take it anymore. She wiped her tears away and opened the lavatory door. She walked out, her strides uneven due to her broken shoe.

The three girls spun around, with their lipsticks and little purses in their hands.

"Stop being mean!" Felicity screamed. "I don't know what all those names you called were, I don't even want to know, but…. I don't think it's right! I don't think you should talk about me or anyone else like that! And Oliver Queen is not going to get bored with me and throw me out!" She was surprised by the sound of her own voice. She didn't know she could even be so loud. She felt she was being as bad and as mean as the three of them. "I'm… I didn't mean to shout at you… I'm sorry." She took off while the three catty women stood there dumbfounded.

She ran wherever her feet took her and ended up at the rooftop of the hotel. She looked at the people walking on the streets and wondered whether they too were going through such anger, pain and confusion. Were they all so mean to each other? Was this what it really felt like to be human? If so, she didn't want it. Angels weren't cruel. Neither were tooth fairies or elves. She didn't want to turn into one of those women she just met. If she stayed in this world any longer, she feared she just might.

"Felicity? What are you doing there? Are you alright?" Oliver had somehow followed her to the rooftop.

She was in no state to talk to Oliver, but she had nowhere to run. She quickly wiped her damped cheeks. "Nothing, I was just…" She didn't really know how to put what she felt into words. "I miss my wings." She did miss them. She used to love flying. Yet, now, as she stared down at the ground below, she felt human Felicity just may not be a fan of heights or flying. Maybe it was the fact she was now mortal and she feared for her life.

"I miss being an angel," she added, staring into the horizon.

He silently slithered closer to her and she felt her stomach flutter.

"I didn't think it would be this difficult to be human. But, it's scary. I don't like what's going on inside my head!" She didn't want to feel what humans feel. Especially not hate or anger.

"Angels don't have emotions?" He stood leaning against the little brick railing there, with his back facing the streets.

The cold night wind hit her and she hugged her self for warmth. "Not like this! Nothing like this!" She was learning that human emotions were unpredictable, uncontrollable and complex. "I know you don't believe that I'm an angel, but…" She lost her train of thought when he took his coat off and put it over her shoulders. A completely different kind of feeling fizzed through her body as she snuggled into his warm coat. Weirdly, she didn't have the will or the urge to try and run away from this human feeling.

He turned to face her. "Would it make you feel any better if I said I want to believe you?"

She finally found the courage to look at him.

He took out the communication device out of his ear and dumped it into one of his pockets. The colorful neon lights on the building across them flashed on his face as he gave her his half smile. The one, which she had become accustomed to seeing over the course of the past few days. "Other than this whole thing being so ridiculous…. There are things, which I can't explain to you right now… things that I don't understand myself, that's stopping me from believing you." His voice was soft and caring. His eyes were tender.

"But, even if you don't believe me, you must believe that Laurel is your soulmate, right?" She placed her hand above his heart. "You should know it in here that Laurel is the one for you?" She waited him to say 'Yes'. Because, there could be no other answer.

He placed his hand over hers. "What If my heart says something else and you and Cupid both are wrong? Does it mean you're not an angel? Or, does it just mean you both were wrong? Or, does it mean I would be making a mistake?"

She was almost sure she felt his heart beat as fast as hers, under her hand. "It is Laurel! I'm sure of it. Cupid is never wrong!" She had seen Laurel Lance's case file with her own eyes. It just can't be anyone else. She took her hand back from under his. "But, do you want it to be someone else?" She didn't know why she had blurted out a question as stupid as that. But, she found herself very eager to know his answer.

He gazed at her for a second and let out a sigh. "I don't know. But, according to you, it can't be anyone else, right?" He raised his eyebrows as he leaned back onto the railing.

"Right! And I will get you two together somehow before I go and I will get my wings back!" She vowed to herself. Laurel Lance was his soulmate. She was merely the angel that should only be worrying about how to get them together. That was her job. Her job was not to try and decode human feelings.

"Right. And that's why we both did that whole act?" He reminded her, his gaze falling to the traffic forming on the street.

Whatever he had done was for Laurel. As it should be. "Right!" She confirmed.

"Now, shall we go home then?" He propped himself off of the railing.

"What about Mr. Fernandez?" The wind began to blow her hair onto her face. She kept trying to move it away, but it kept coming back.

"I don't think he's going to show up tonight." He took one particularly unruly lock of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.

She shuddered at his light touch. "Then Laurel?" She uttered softly as if telling him a secret.

He held her gaze for a while. He seemed surprised that she had chosen that moment to bring up his soulmate's name. "I think we already did what we came here to do. We made her jealous. So, I don't think there's a reason for us to stay here anymore."

"We did? I mean, she was jealous?" She didn't think they had succeeded. She thought she had run away too quickly before they could truly put their plan into motion.

He shook his head, smiling candidly again. "Why else would she have interrupted right when I was about to… when we were dancing?"

"Oh? But aren't you supposed to woo her or something now? That's what happened in all those movies Thea made me watch. Well, in one of those movies, the guy turned out to be a serial killer. That was so creepy, I couldn't even fall asleep that night." Felicity cringed, remembering the awful movie. "Uh... But, that's not the point. The point is, shouldn't you now try to get closer to her. I don't mean you should tell her about what you do wearing that green suit. I mean, you can tell her that someday... If you want to... but, shouldn't you go now and try to show her that you're a different person than she thinks you are?"

"Not tonight." He stared at her as though he found something amusing on her face.

"Then, when?" She wiped her face just to make sure there was nothing there.

"Just not tonight!" He was insistent.

She squinted, trying to guess why he was so against the idea. "Maybe you have a point." She went on a rampant again, like always. "I mean, maybe it is too early for you to start running after her. Obviously, it won't be right for you to chase after her while you're still dating me. We're not really dating. I knew that. I mean, Laurel thinks we're dating. So…" She played with her fingers anxiously as she tried to get her thoughts back into track. "Anyway, I do have more than two months to make it work and…" She stopped when she saw his head tilt towards her. She felt her cheeks turn warm. She wondered whether he was going to kiss her again, because she had been talking too much.

She felt her lips part anticipating the contact, but he simply put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's just go home now."

She snapped her mouth shut, feeling quite red. After two blinks, she came back to her senses. "You mean, we should go to the foundry? Is there any chance we can put a bed in there?" She was slowly developing a liking to the hideout. Yet, the couch wasn't the most comfortable of places to sleep in. Most definitely, not as comfortable as the warm fluffy mattress in Oliver's bed.

"Maybe..." He paused as if to reconsider whatever he was going to say next. "Maybe you can come to the mansion with me tonight?"

Oh! How badly she wanted to sleep in his bed. She just could imagine the bed right now. She could almost feel the soft sheets beneath her. She didn't hate having Oliver's warm body next to her either. But one thing stood in her way. "What about your mom?"

"I'll sneak you in. Believe me, I've done it a more than a couple of times." He flashed his million dollar playboy smile.

Staring up at his beaming face, suddenly she wasn't so sure. Something was telling her that if she were to go there tonight, she was going to face a much bigger problem than just Moira Queen's scrutinizing glare.

"If you don't want to, that's -"

"No, I want to!" She couldn't just let this opportunity pass. She figured she would face whatever problem if and when they would arise. She had been suffering on that couch long enough.

"Ok, then, let's get going," he said, turning around and heading towards the exit.

Felicity pushed her hands through the armholes of his coat, that had been just hanging on her shoulders. She felt so tiny, but safe inside it. "How did you know I was here anyway?" She waddled behind him on her broken heel.

She couldn't see his face, but she figured he had one of his little smirks on. "I have my ways…"

"What do you mean, you have your ways?" She quickened her pace and caught up to him.

He stopped. "The locket…" He took the heart shaped jewelry hanging on her neck into his palm. "It isn't exactly just a locket. It has a tracker."

Most human terms and jargon still eluded her. "A tracker?" She stared down at the locket, now resting in his hand.

"Yeah, I can use it to find out where you are. I wanted to make sure you didn't run away tonight." He let go of the tracker and walked away.

"Oh?" So, it wasn't a gift. He had given it to her, because he didn't trust her. Now, when she looked down at the little chain, all she saw was a symbol of distrust.

But, it wasn't his fault. She could understand why he had done what he had done. She had anyway known he didn't trust her all that much. In fact, turning off all communication systems in the foundry when locking her up in there, was proof of it. So far she too had not made any real attempt to prove herself trustworthy either.

Although, neither did any of it meant that deep down somewhere in her heart, she was not hurt. She took a silent oath that night as she hobbled after him. Before she went back up there, preferably with a pair of wings, she would make Oliver trust her. She would somehow make him gift her something signifying his trust.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second update for the day as promised.
> 
> Thanks again to KarenfrmMD for going over this chapter

A slight drizzle poured down from the sky as Oliver treaded about the mansion grounds with his angel.

"Your mom has never caught you?" Felicity asked, stopping to take her broken heels off. "Never ever?" She gripped his arm, just above his elbow, to keep her balance.

"Maybe a few times…" He instinctively put his other arm on her waist to offer her more support. He had caught himself doing that a lot lately. His hand seemed to always wander around her waist, whether she needed his assistance or not. Especially tonight at the ball.

He needed to take his hand back now before she noticed he was doing it again. But, the little pause in her action, the way her hand lay frozen on her shoe strap, caused him to believe he may have been too late. She had already noticed it. And, something told him, that she may have been noticing his new habit, the whole night.

"But, it's a very low number, compared to the number of times I didn't get caught," he summed up as he quietly withdrew his hand from her waist.

She slipped her feet out of her high heels and stood barefoot on the lush green lawn. The second, the shoes were off, she let go of him. The warmth of her hand, the feel of her fingers, lingered on his arm longer than he liked. He could only blame his rain-soaked dress shirt for it. The stupid shirt had allowed her warmth to seep through!

He turned about trying to ignore the feeling. A ladder hidden behind a row of rose bushes, caught his eye. If he remembered correctly, it was the same ladder he had used five years ago. The one that he had used to sneak in, very drunk and willing girls into his room. He was amazed that it was still even around and that too in the same place he had seen it last.

Reminiscing on his happy-go-lucky Oliver Queen days, he placed the ladder against the wall, right below the window leading to his room.

Felicity eyed the ladder as if it was some form of a deathtrap. "Are you sure this is a good idea? Because, I think I might be afraid of heights…"

The blonde wasn't the only one second guessing this plan of his. He, too, was having second thoughts. Or, maybe even third. Hell, even fourth thoughts about it.

Expectedly so, neither had John Diggle looked as if he agreed with his plan. His friend had thrown him a stern look, when Felicity had so happily informed him about her sleeping arrangements. When Oliver had first brought Felicity to the foundry, Diggle had opposed to the idea of keeping her a prisoner there. Now, his friend seemed to prefer her stay at the foundry over her spending the night in his room.

None of it mattered though. He had already given Felicity his word and he didn't want to let her down now. Certainly, not after he had found her crying upon that rooftop. He kept telling himself that he was simply providing refuge to a girl, who didn't like sleeping on the couch. That was it. There were no other reasons behind his invitation. Because, what other reason could there possibly be?

"I didn't think sneaking into your house would involve climbing a ladder in the rain." She cautiously climbed up the old rickety ladder, holding her dress and shoes in one hand.

He would have offered to carry her shoes for her, but she was already few steps ahead of him. He just didn't want her to fall off, while she handed the heels over to him. Although, he was certain he wouldn't have let her fall in any case.

"Next time, if I complain about sleeping in the foundry, just remind me about this ladder." Half way through, the ladder wobbled a little and she stopped.

"I'll keep that in mind." He smiled.

Felicity muttered something under her breath and once the ladder stopped shaking, she moved up again. Slowly and warily, she reached the ledge. "Don't look down. Don't look down," she told herself as she moved to her left hugging the wall.

Oliver quickly climbed the rest of the steps and crawled into the room before her. "Give me your hand." He snatched her trembling hand and snaked one arm around her small waist once more.

A small yelp escaped her as he hauled her inside.

"Are you ok?" He stepped back to check on her. The lights were turned off, but he could see her, standing in front of the window. Her face was all shadows and contrasts. But, her eyes flickered, catching whatever little light that dwelled in his room. The shiny hairpin, which at the beginning of the night was pinned perfectly on her hair, looked as if it would fall off any second.

She was still wearing his coat. Now completely soaked and probably smelling like her. The coat did nothing to her figure. Even so, seeing her enveloped in something of his, evoked an emotion he couldn't quite explain in one word.

"I'm ok." Her eyes drifted towards the bed.

He took one little step towards her. His hands then reached out and grabbed the lapels of her coat. His coat, in fact. "It's wet. You'll get sick."

Her heels fell from her hand and she looked up at him mystified.

He wanted to run his thumb over her lips. The very lips he had wanted to and had almost kissed on that ballroom floor, right before Laurel had shown up with Tommy.

He didn't like to admit it, but he knew he may have gotten a bit carried away with the whole 'act' for a second there. He had just been distracted. It was just the lights, the music, her dress, her makeup and the whole 'eye contact' thing messing with his mind. It had to be. It also had to be why, Oliver hadn't particularly loved the idea of Tommy taking Felicity away from him. Even if it was for just one dance. Yes, it had to be because of the lights and the music and everything else.

"I think I can do it…" she protested. Yet, she did nothing to swat away his hands that were now, working on the coat buttons.

Of course, he knew she could do it. She maybe an angel turned human or an IT genius, but she was more than capable of unbuttoning a simple coat. Maybe he was just being possessive over his coat and just didn't want her to wear it anymore. Maybe he was afraid that he would do more than just unbutton the coat, if she stood there wrapped in it any longer.

"There…" the buttons were off.

She slipped out of the coat and it dropped to the floor. "Thanks." She bent down to pick it up. The heart shaped locket started to swing back and forth, as it hung down from her neck.

It hurt him to see that thing on her. He remembered how happy she had looked when he put it on her. He remembered how shattered she had looked when he so thoughtlessly told her what it really was. He should have never told her that it was a tracker. Yet, at that moment, he hadn't thought that far ahead. All he had thought to do was, to brag about how clever he had been to gift it to her. He now, hated himself for ever doing that. For tricking her so.

He had supposed that it was the only way he could ensure it stayed on her neck. He had been merely looking out for himself. He had to know where she was at all times, because he couldn't have her sneaking off and telling his secrets to anyone.

However, when he draped that necklace on her neck, in some twisted way, he had believed he was looking out for her as well. "It's ok. Leave it there. Just go and change."

"Uh… yeah ok…" She looked around the room and found the t-shirt she usually slept in. He had never put it back in his closet for whatever reason and even Raisa hadn't bothered to. "I'll go... and get undressed. Not undressed! Dressed! Why would I just get undressed? I mean, I'll get undressed and then get dressed…"

If there had been enough light, Oliver was sure he would have seen Felicity blush. He figured her face must look as red as it did, when he had kissed her cheek at the ball.

"I'll… I'll just go now…" She bunched the t-shirt in her hand and scampered into the bathroom.

He pushed her heels to the side with his foot and picked the coat up from the floor. He was tempted to find out whether the coat truly smelled like her as he had presumed earlier. He almost brought it up to his nose, but in the end, threw it onto a chair as if it was cursed.

He didn't really need to know anyway. He already knew what she smelt like. During their training sessions, he had noticed, that she in fact smelt more like a concoction of strawberries and roses. Because of the pact that they had made, she didn't smell like his favorite flavor of ice cream anymore. Nonetheless, that didn't stop her fragrance from invading his senses ever so often.

Over the last few days, he had had fun teasing her and flaunting her favorite ice cream in her face. And, within that week, he had also learned many things about her. Like the fact that she bit her lower lip, whenever her arrows missed her target. He had learned that he liked having her around, despite the fact he didn't know who she was exactly. The foundry didn't look as grim with her around.

The deadbolt on the bathroom door unlocked with a click and Felicity stepped into the room again. He turned to her and was glad that he hadn't put the lights on yet. Or else, he would have been caught gawking at her legs as she climbed onto her side of the bed. Her side of the bed? She already had a side?

"Goodnight then," she said as she pulled the bed cover over her and turned to the other side.

He took his shirt off and piled it on top of the coat. "Goodnight." He stared at her sleeping profile for a second, before making his way to the bathroom.

When he returned, showered and ready for bed, Felicity looked to be fast asleep. He crawled into the bed, and snuck under the covers, careful not to wake her up.

"Oliver," She was not a sleep as he had thought. "I was wondering… how does it feel?" He heard her shift beside him.

"How does what feel?" He looked at her.

She was lying on her side, her head propped against her fist. Her face was half veiled by shadows. "Eh… It?" She began to fondle with the gold chain on her neck.

He wondered why she hadn't taken it off. Was she trying to torture him with it somehow?

"It?" Luckily or unluckily, his thoughts didn't remain on the gold chain for long. His attention drifted to her chest, where the locket was resting. His treacherous eyes were sharp enough to recognize the girl wasn't wearing anything underneath the t-shirt. He gulped as his imagination ran rampant for a moment.

"I mean, I've realized I will be gone in a few months. And I've experienced a lot of things the past few days I've been here. But, I don't think I will ever get to know how 'it' feels. So, I'm just curious…"

"What do you mean, 'It'?" He switched the lampshade on. He wanted to turn the light on and see her face. Just to make sure the 'It' she was referring to was the same 'It' he thought she was referring to.

"I mean, when a man and a woman…" she paused.

She really was asking about 'it' now? About sex? She was asking how 'It' felt while she practically wore nothing under that t-shirt? He had always assumed her to be a virgin. She did mumble something about he being her first kiss. She did get some advice on the whole 'sleeping' thing from Thea. But, this question just seemed to be confirming what he had suspected all along.

But, he had thought that Thea had explained these things already. Maybe she hadn't gone into much detail. But, did Felicity not know, it wasn't the best time or the best person to ask this question?

It was at times like these however, he was sure she had to be an angel or some innocent girl that had been living under a rock her whole life. It couldn't be an act. If it was an act, what was she trying to accomplish? Was she trying to seduce him?

"Never mind, I'll ask Thea in the morning." She sighed and lay on her back.

He stared at the ceiling. "You know that feeling you get when you…" He couldn't even believe he was attempting to explain it to her. He didn't even know how to. Then, after pondering over it for a second, he opted to use an analogy he knew Felicity could relate to. "When you eat chocolate mint chip ice cream?" He dared not look at her as he answered.

She turned to him again. "Is it like that?" He could hear the sound of piqued interest in her voice.

"No." What was he thinking? Eating an ice cream wasn't the same! "Multiply that feeling by hundred…" he added, hoping that answer would suffice.

"That's it?" She seemed unimpressed.

"No!" There was so much more to it than that, but how was he supposed to tell her. The more he thought about how 'It' felt, more awkward he felt about sleeping on the same bed as the blonde. "If it's with the right person, multiply it by thousand and…"

"Oh? Is that how you felt when you were with Laurel?"

Was that really how 'It' had felt when he was with Laurel? He couldn't remember. But, he remembered feeling guilty about betraying her. He remembered feeling that he had to make it work somehow. Because, she was the kind of woman 'The Billionaire Oliver Queen' was supposed to end up with. Because, she was the kind of woman a man should be lucky to be with.

But, had he even felt anything other than guilt, when they were making love? Were they even making love? But, it was the thoughts of making things right with her, that had gotten him through those five years on that island. So, being with Laurel, must have felt like eating chocolate mint chip ice cream multiplied by thousand, right? "I'm … I think so…"

He felt his heart beat the exact same way it had earlier that night, when he was at the rooftop of Starling Grand Hotel. " _Do you want it to be someone else?_ " He remembered Felicity ask, her eyes peering into his. And for some reason, that question had resonated with him.

"I don't think I'll ever get to feel that. I'm not sure if I want to or if I should even be thinking about 'it'. I mean, being in love… but…" She gazed at the dark ceiling and sighed again.

"Wait, what? You wanted to know how it felt like to be in love?" The 'It' she was referring to wasn't what he had thought it was?

"Yeah? What did you think I was talking about?" She frowned at him.

"Something else…" He quickly turned the lamp off, hoping to end the conversation there.

"What?"

"Nothing… just go to sleep…" he commanded her.

"If it was something else, shouldn't you change your answer or something?"

"No! Just sleep!" Somehow he was relieved he had only used ice cream as an example.

"Agh!" Grumbling, she turned around.

Within a few minutes, he heard her breathing even out. This time, she seemed to have actually fallen asleep. He didn't have the luxury of falling asleep so easily like her. His head was filled with too many thoughts and questions. And he knew the woman lying beside him was the root cause of it all.

He jolted slightly when she rolled over and burrowed closer to him. Placing her head on the hollow of his shoulder. He could now feel her curves very clearly against him. He had been right. She definitely wasn't wearing a bra. Her warm breath fell on his scarred skin and he closed his eyes. He had to work hard to not to give into the temptation to run his fingers through her hair.

He was a man and she was a woman. If she was completely human or not, he didn't know for sure, but she was indeed a woman. Most probably a virgin. And as a man, he was attracted to this untouched beauty sleeping on him. There was no denying that. But, there was all that was to it. Just an attraction. Not love. Definitely not love. He barely knew the woman.

That was exactly why Diggle had to have given him that look. And that was exactly why, this couldn't happen again. He wouldn't be inviting her to sleep over at his place ever again. For the remainder of her stay, she would be staying at the foundry and nowhere else.

"Oliver…" Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he heard her mumble his name in her sleep. He knew he should move away, but he made no such effort. He didn't want her to wake up and ask him any more questions. At least, that was what he told himself as he kept his eyes closed, until sleep finally came over him.

"Ollie, look! You and Felicity made it into the front page!" Thea burst into his room in her PJs.

"What?" Oliver asked wiping the sleep off of his eyes. "Thea?" Sunlight crept in through the windows and he could barely keep his eyes opened. He realized that he had slept through the night without his usual nightmares waking him up. He didn't want to think it was because of the angel. But the thought did cross his mind.

"Ollie!" His sister screeched and stared at him horrified. "Felicity and I are trying so hard to help you get back with Laurel and you're sleeping with some girl? No offense to whoever is in there! But…" She covered her eyes and turned around to leave. "Ah! I should have knocked!"

Oliver's droopy eyes shifted to the blonde head resting on his chest. He could feel one of her hands lying dangerously upon the waistband of his pants.

He didn't move. He couldn't. He was afraid any sudden movement would cause her hand to wander somewhere very problematic. And mornings probably weren't the best time of the day for her hand to accidentally roam down there. Not that he would have been fine with it if it were to happen intentionally. No, really, he wasn't looking forward to something like that. He didn't think about her hand doing something like that. He didn't think about how her fingers would- No! He really shouldn't! His baby sister was in the room, for God's sake!

"It's just me, Thea." Felicity cuddled closer to him and went back to sleep as if it were something she did every morning.

His brain told him to scramble out of there, but he didn't have the heart to wake her up. She did say she hadn't had a decent sleep in a while.

"Felicity?" Thea turned to them again, rolling the newspaper in her hand. For a second, Oliver thought she was going to hit him with it. "You and her? I can't say I'm surprised, but-"

"No! She didn't want to stay in the hotel last night and I just…" He began to explain, but he felt Felicity's legs entangling themselves with his and he froze.

"Hmm?" Thea walked around with her hands behind her back as if she was an detective studying a crime scene.

"What?" He followed Thea's gaze and realized where his right hand was. It had crawled under her t-shirt and was resting on her smooth back. Thank God, the bed covers were still in place. He didn't wish to know how much her t-shirt may have ridden up.

"Nothing… But, if you still want Laurel…" His sister raised a brow, as if he was a suspect, guilty of a major crime. "I suggest you and Felicity get dressed and go down to Laurel's favorite coffee place. She goes there every morning and she needs to see you being all lovey-dovey with Felicity." She gave him a sneaky smile. "Something tells me, it's not going to be that difficult for you two to do that."

Wasn't last night's act, enough? "But, Speedy?" He finally tried to sit. But, Felicity rambled something and held onto him tightly, preventing him from moving anywhere. He couldn't honestly say he put that much of an effort into moving away either.

"No buts! Or I'll snap a picture of you two sleeping in your bed like this and post it on tumblr" She pretended to snap a photograph with her fingers, doing a click sound with her mouth. "Just be glad I care about Felicity too much to post a picture of her with that hair." She pointed at Felicity's curly blonde hair that was sprawled across his chest.

"What's a tumblr?" Before he could get an answer, Thea had already marched out of his room. "Speedy! I'm not going to any coffee shops!" he shouted.

Yet, eventually, he did end up going to the café as his sister had wanted. Thea knew how to work the puppy dog eyes as well as anybody else.

Surprisingly, Oliver found himself sitting at the same café with Felicity the next day and the day after, and the next.

In the beginning, he would hold Felicity's had and pretend to be engaged in some conversation. He would see Laurel come in and go out. Sometimes, Laurel would act as if she didn't notice them. And, sometimes, she would greet them with a simple 'Hi'.

But, as days went by, and a week and another, he realized he wasn't going to that coffee place every morning, only because of Laurel or the coffee. He realized his conversations with Felicity had turned real. Funny and awkward at times, but real nonetheless.

The smiles he had on his face too were real. Well, the smiles had always been real, when he was with her, but he had noticed that they were much more frequent.

And he was beginning to believe that, maybe, just maybe, that Felicity could really be an angel. He was willing to believe in it so much, he had temporarily halted all the searches he had been running on Felicity Smoak, the IT girl.

"Here…" Another morning at the café and Felicity placed some kind of an envelope upon the table.

"What's this?" He opened it up and drew out a silver colored invitation card.

"Invitation to the opera." She bit into the doughnut in her hand.

He skimmed over the invitation and threw it back on the table. "Don't tell me. Thea wants us both to be there, because Laurel is going to be there?" He hated the opera, but Laurel loved it. When they were dating, she had tried to make an opera fan out of him. Being the lying, cheating boyfriend he was back then, he had always given her some excuse and made her go with Tommy.

"Yes, but this is my idea!" Felicity grinned confidently and she licked some cream off her wrist.

Momentarily, he was distracted by what her tongue was doing. He quickly cleared his throat and forced himself to concentrate on what she had said. "Your idea?" He wasn't so surprised Felicity had come up with it all by herself.

She knew more about their world, his world now, than she did when he met her for the first time. She seemed to grasp things much more easily than a couple of weeks ago.

"Hmm..." She finished her doughnut and looked up at him. "Thea told me you don't like the opera. And, we've been coming here a lot and Laurel has seen us come here a lot. But-"

"You don't like coming here?" Oliver could hear Diggle's voice in his head. " _Is it still just an act for you, Oliver? …. I just hope you know what you're doing._ " His friend had reminded him, that very morning.

"Hmm? I… I do… but… we need to do something big before the break up and I think this might be it."

"The break up?" Why hadn't he heard about this before? She was with him and Diggle at the foundry all the time. Why hadn't this topic ever come up?

"It's... It's Thea's idea," she added quickly.

His jaws clenched. "When?"

"Two weeks after the opera. That's four weeks from now. At my birthday party." She nervously pulled on her gold chain, causing the heart shaped tracker to pop out from her V-neck blouse.

In spite of it being a tracker, she seemed to have taken a liking to the thing. He hadn't seen her without it. "Your birthday? Angels have birthdays?" If it really was her birthday, maybe he should buy her something else. May be then she would get rid of that tracker.

"No, it's a pretend one… so we can do a big break up scene in front of everyone. In front of Laurel." Her eyes went wide as her hands elaborated how big the break up scene was going to be.

"So… how… why are you breaking up with me?" He hadn't meant to sound like a desperate boyfriend. But, he knew that was what he must have sounded like.

"Thea didn't explain to me yet. But, I think you're going to be breaking up with me. Not the other way around. But… But, isn't it funny though?" She laughed, but it seemed forced and fake. "We're not even dating, but we're planning to break up in a month."

Was it ironic to break up with someone, who you really weren't dating? Probably, yes. But, was it laugh out loud funny? No! He wasn't laughing. It didn't make him laugh.

Her smile soon faded seeing that he wasn't laughing along. "Hmm… but, we really have to go to the opera and show Laurel how much you care about me. To show her that you can love someone enough to sit through something you hate."

"Do you have any idea how boring these things are?" He directed his eyes at the card.

"No, but it's just one night." The girl was almost begging. "I won't ask you to go anywhere with me ever again. We won't even have to come here after that. It will be our last date. So, will you go with me?"

So, according to her, if he went to the opera with her, there wouldn't be any breakfast at the coffee place anymore. There won't be any more dates after that. It sounded like a good deal. Except, somehow, for some reason, it wasn't. "Ok…" He agreed, only because he had found himself unable to say 'no' to her.

"Thank you! I love you!" She gasped at the realization of what she had just blurted. "Not 'love you' love you… but, like how I love mint chip ice cream… and not multiplied by hundred or thousand…" She smiled. She seemed as if she thought she was being very clever with her words.

He didn't know whether he should be happy about the fact that she loved him just as much as she loved her favorite ice cream or be annoyed by it. Maybe he should just hate himself for ever using ice cream as an analogy to explain anything.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to KarenfrmMD for reviewing this chapter!

Oliver unzipped his hoodie and began to carefully slide it off his shoulders. He pursed his lips together when the green material brushed against his newest battle wound. Even with the sharp pain he felt in his upper arm, he found himself admiring how absolutely stunning Felicity looked in her evening dress. The deep red gown hugged her in all the right places and showed just enough skin that could entice any man. And he was no exception.

"You're bleeding!" It was just a small cut, just an oversized scrape. Yet, she glared at the bleeding wound in his arm, as if it were as deep as the Mariana Trench. "Are you sure you're ok? You don't look like you're ok… And why isn't Diggle here yet? I thought you said he'll be back soon? Did you say that or did I just imagine you saying that? Not that I imagine you saying things to me, but…" She chewed on the skin around her nails. It was a nervous habit, which he had seen her do often. Mostly, when he set out to battle or returned to the foundry bruised or injured.

"Felicity, it's nothing." He snatched a clean cloth out of a drawer and pressed it against the cut to stop the bleeding. "Anyway, it's not like it's the first time you've seen me hurt?" Suddenly, the pain became bit too much to keep suppressed and he groaned out loudly.

Felicity winced at the sound he made. Her hand went to her chest as though to sooth a pain she felt there. "But… usually… usually, Diggle is here to help you," she mumbled and scurried away in her stilettos, to one corner of the foundry to the other.

As she hustled about looking for something, he sat on the steel table next to him and just watched her quietly. He was captivated by the sway of her hips and the way her blonde hair shimmered under the fluorescent lights. The cut at the back of her dress was almost sinful. He couldn't stop trailing every inch of her exposed skin with his eyes.

That moment, just like he had caught himself doing many other times before, he had let himself forget that 'Angel Felicity', could also be 'Felicity Smoak'. He had let himself forget that he was a vigilante, a man with a dark past and possibly, a darker future.

Only when he saw her walk towards him again, did he realize that he had zoned out into an imaginary world.

Felicity stopped right in front him. She was a vision in red, a bowl of water in one hand and a wash cloth hanging on the other.

"I think you're supposed to clean it first. That's what Diggle normally does. I think…" she trailed off as she soaked the wash cloth in water.

Oliver removed the cloth he had been using to stop the bleeding and checked on the wound. The bleeding seemed to have pretty much stopped. So, he discarded the blood sodden cloth and reached for the soggy white one Felicity was holding. His fingers slightly swept over her palm when he grabbed it from her outstretched hand. He felt something akin to a spark shoot out at the contact and he looked up at her.

She instantly cast her eyes at the bowl of water she had been cradling in her other hand. Her face reflected the color of her dress as her eyes fluttered close and opened again. She seemed to have felt the spark too - maybe.

Water dripped from the wet cloth in his hand and onto his knee, reminding him of the wound that still needed his attention.

He eyed the cut. It was on the back of his arm and he began to clean it rather awkwardly and poorly. "Maybe, you should wait for Diggle?" she suggested, squirming at the sight of blood and water that trickled down his arm.

"Diggle went to drop the kidnappers off, somewhere near the precinct. If we wait until he comes back, I might bleed to death," he said jokingly.

Yet, the blonde had failed to find the humor in it. She had taken his words quite literally and was gaping at him, looking more worried than she had been a while ago.

"I'm not really going to die from this, Felicity." He gave a short laugh. "Believe me, I've survived much worse. And I think you already know that, too." Just last week, he was shot and he recalled seeing her almost close to tears. But, he hadn't thought much of it. He had learned that she couldn't watch anyone, suffer from any form pain. She was sensitive and cared about everyone. She even cared about the fate of all the loved ones of each and every criminal he caught. She was even upset, when Thea got a paper cut the other day. So, she wasn't specifically worried over him, because she cared for him in a specific way. He didn't think so. But, did he want her to be worried over him in some 'specific' way? He didn't know. He only knew he shouldn't expect or want such things. Especially not from her.

"I know, but… Diggle is not here and … I really don't want you to die-"

Did she say those words with such weight, because she felt guilty? Because, she was the one, who proposed he should go and save that child from his kidnappers tonight? Or was she simply worried that if he were to die, she wouldn't get to go home an angel? Whatever the reasons were, her confession struck a chord with him. The innocence in her voice, the worry in her eyes, made him want to keep her shielded from all evil in the world. Including himself. "I won't." At least, not tonight.

She seized the washcloth from him and proceeded to clean the wound properly. "Never ever…" she added. It sounded as if she was asking him to make a promise to her, rather than making a statement.

He felt his chest tighten and he didn't want to believe, it was because of what she had said. He would rather believe it was due to something else. Maybe due to the irritation he felt, as the wet cloth ran over the open wound.

She set the bowl and the cloth aside, and picked up the first aid kit. Her fingers fumbled on the small latches on the box, until it came ajar. After putting on a pair of gloves, she stared at the medical supplies looking quite stumped. Her fingers danced as she tried to figure out her next step. Finally, few seconds later, her hands came to hover over the needles at the corner of the box.

"I don't think it needs any stitches," he let her know.

"Right." She went for the antibiotic cream and some cotton wool instead. She held it up in front of his face. "These?" she asked.

Once he approved, she cleaned the area around the cut again with a bit of cotton wool. Then she began to carefully administer the antibiotic cream onto the small incision. He hissed a little when the cream first touched his skin.

"I'm sorry!" She quickly pulled her hand back.

He caught her retreating hand by her wrist. "No, it's alright."

Her eyes ran to their connection and then she looked up at him again. "Eh… Oliver, I'm… I'm sorry for making you go after those kidnappers. You got hurt because of me. Their names weren't on that list and I shouldn't have asked you to-"

"It's… It's not your fault, Felicity. I probably would've gone after them, anyway." Yes, 'probably' was the right choice of word. Because, he was not entirely sure he would have. If not for Felicity, he 'probably' may not have put his life on the line for something other than his own mission.

He remembered how shattered she had looked in her red dress, when she saw that news report. According to the news, a five year old boy was kidnapped to fulfill a personal vendetta the kidnappers had against his family. Somehow, the kidnappers had realized that the child's family had contacted the police, against their request. So they had threatened to kill the child by sun down, if their new set of ridiculous demands were not met.

He remembered her turning to him with tears pooling in her eyes. " _I know those kidnappers' names are not on your list. I understand that… But that cute little boy is going to die, Oliver. He's going to die if you don't help him. You can save someone, Oliver! You'll be saving someone's life, not taking one. You won't be just crossing off someone's name off some list. Please, help him!"_  He remembered gazing at her for few more seconds, before deciding to go after the kidnappers.

Honestly, for the first time, he felt proud of his battle wound. When he took the child back to his parents and saw their smiles, he knew he would always wear its scar with a sense of pride.

"But I shouldn't have…" She lowered her gaze to the floor.

"This is nothing compared to what would have happened to that kid, if Diggle and I hadn't gotten there in time. You helped save someone's life. So, don't worry about this. Ok?" He searched for her eyes, his hand tightening around her wrist.

"But-"

"Ok?" he asked again, even softer this time.

"Ok." She finally looked at him, nodding her head in a hesitant 'yes' motion.

He unclasped her wrist and let her hand fall. Their eyes stay connected for few more heartbeats, until she eventually resumed tending to his cut. Her forehead and nose crinkled as she concentrated on her task. "All done!" she said after wrapping a dressing around his arm.

The dressing felt a little too loose, but for the time being it was enough. "Thank you."

"Wait!" She stepped even closer to him. The long slit in her dress unraveled her left leg almost up to mid-thigh.

"What?" She was now standing so close, her warmth touched his bare chest. He caught a whiff of her perfume every time he breathed. With a lot of effort he managed to focus only on her face and not anywhere below. Not at the low cut neckline. Not at her hips or the slit on her dress.

Her fingers ran on his hairline. He almost let his eyes close and surrendered to her gentle touch.

"You have a bruise on your forehead. A very small one." She put a bit of antibiotic cream on the said bruise and he hissed again.

He had been stabbed, shot, poisoned and at some point or the other had been left to die for days on that island. Why was he making such a big deal out of some antibiotic cream? Why was he being such a baby tonight? He felt utterly embarrassed by his own reaction.

"Sorry…" She blew air into the bruise, to cool down the burning sensation.

He sat, enthralled by her beauty, her tenderness and her lips. He wondered what would have happened, if he was just some guy and she was some girl he met at a bar.

He found himself wishing, there were no islands, lists, cupids and soulmates. He found himself wishing, he could throw all caution to the wind, grab her by her hips and kiss those puckered up lips that were just begging to be kissed. But, they were only wishes. Silly, meaningless, hormone induced wishes of a lonely man. There was nothing more to them.

"Ok, done." She stepped back, her eyes still set on the bruise.

"I guess, I'll go and get ready to go to the opera then?" He got down from the table.

She moved back, even farther away from him. "No! You don't have to. You're hurt!"

"I told you, it's not that bad. Besides, you're already dressed." He took one more, long look at her. It certainly would be a terrible pity if she had to change back into something else so soon. Because, of course, Thea would be disappointed. She would be distraught, if Felicity didn't get to show off the pretty dress she picked out for her.

"That's ok. We'll just break up in two more weeks. I don't think, going on this date would've made that much of a difference, anyway." She took her gloves off and threw it to the trash.

"What about showing Laurel that I can sit through something I hate, because I love you?" The last few words came out little too naturally and it startled him.

She stared at him for one prolonged moment and then blinked as though trying to get herself out of a daze. "But you're hurt… and I thought you didn't really want to go to the opera?"

"I don't." He truly should be ecstatic that he had an excuse not to go. But, he wasn't. He just didn't want to have Felicity sulking the whole day tomorrow, because they couldn't go through with her plan. She had been looking forward to this date for quite some time. This was supposedly the date that was going to show Laurel he had changed. The date, which would show her that he was not the same selfish Ollie anymore.

Felicity stood, twisting her gold necklace between her fingers. It didn't even go with her dress, but she had persisted on wearing it. And, as always, he felt miserable at the sight of the tracker hanging on her neck.

"Then?" Her soft enquiry snapped him out of the gloom he had gotten himself lost in.

"It's our last date." He hoped she would understand what he was trying to say. Although, he himself had no clue as to what he was trying to say. Maybe secretly, he, too, had been looking forward to this 'last date'?

Her brow furrowed as if she was trying to solve a complex puzzle. "Are you sure you can go?" she asked a second or two later. "I mean, can you? With that?" She directed her gaze at the dressing on his arm.

"Yes." The barely there bruise on his forehead and the small incision on his arm weren't going to stop him from going to the damn opera tonight.

"If you're sure then-"

"Yes. I'm sure." He walked off to the restroom, before she tried to say something else to convince him to stay.

It was strange, really. For the last two weeks, he had been the one protesting about the idea of going to the opera, whereas Felicity had been completely excited over it. But tonight, he was the one, who didn't want to abandon the plan. While she was simply willing to give it up. All because he had a slight incision on his arm.

After getting ready, Oliver opened the restroom door. "Felicity?" His eyes searched for the blonde.

However, he found Diggle standing on his path. "So, you're still going to this thing?"

Felicity appeared from behind Diggle, holding a matching clutch and a pair of opera glasses in her hands. "I told him we don't have to," she said, looking at him through the miniature binoculars.

"I'm taking the car," Oliver offered no answers or explanations to either one of them.

He could almost feel Diggle's judging eyes on his back, as he caught Felicity's hand and took her towards the exit. "Dig, I'll see you tomorrow morning." That was all he said as he opened the door and entered the alley behind the foundry, with Felicity.

They arrived at the opera house just few minutes before the starting time. Fortunately, unlike at the charity last month, there were barely any paparazzi around. So, they were able to get in without too much of a hassle.

They entered the lounge area, where most VIP guests normally gathered. "Ollie!" He saw Tommy wave at them from across the room.

Laurel was standing next to him, with a nervous smile on her face.

"Oh, she's already here. With Tommy," Felicity muttered.

Oliver wasn't surprised to see them both there, together. That was the way it had always been. Tommy was the one who always took Laurel to the opera, because 'Ollie' was a self-absorbed idiot. However, Oliver wasn't an idiot now. He could clearly see that after his disappearance, Tommy and Laurel had gotten much closer. "Of course, they are already here. We're the ones who were almost late," Oliver whispered as he put his arm around Felicity's waist. "Hey!" He waved back and crossed the room to meet his oldest friend and ex-girlfriend.

"Hi," Felicity greeted somewhat reservedly as they approached the other couple.

Laurel tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gave Felicity a friendly smile. "Nice to see you again, Felicity."

"You, too." She returned another smile.

"Is my old buddy here, keeping you locked up somewhere, Felicity?" Tommy teased.

Oliver just laughed it off. Whenever Tommy had asked about Felicity's whereabouts, he had told Tommy that she was either with Thea or she was busy running some errand or the other. If only Tommy knew, Felicity had been living right under his own club, all this time.

"You kind of disappeared on me that night at the ball and I wanted to know if you were ok?" Tommy sounded sincerely concerned about Felicity.

Those days, if Ollie's type was brunettes, Tommy's type was blondes. Maybe it was an unspoken pact they had made to make sure that neither friend went after the same woman. A way to keep their friendship secure. And as far as Oliver knew, their silent agreement had worked out pretty well, throughout their adolescent years and into their early twenties.

Oliver wasn't sure if Tommy had changed or his taste in women had changed over the last five years. Nevertheless, Tommy's friendly enquiry certainly made him grab a hold of Felicity's waist even more tightly.

"I'm ok. I've… I've been a bit busy with - stuff." Felicity wasn't the greatest liar around. Her eyes dodged the two people standing in front of her.

Laurel frowned. "Stuff?"

"Hmmm… yeah, you know… stuff?" Felicity replied, playing with the little strap on her clutch.

"Hey, what happened to your forehead?" Tommy pointed at the bruise on Oliver's forehead.

It seemed it wasn't as unnoticeable as Oliver had thought. "I fell from…." He couldn't think of something to say. Apparently, he was a worse liar than Felicity.

"He fell from our bed last night." Did Felicity just say 'our' bed? Was it a mistake or was she giving her all to 'pretending to be a couple' thing?

But, why did that make him draw her closer to him?

"Really?" Tommy glanced back and forth between Oliver and Felicity. He always did have a very wild imagination. More in particularly, when it came to activities in the bedroom.

Felicity simply nodded clueless as to where Tommy's imaginative mind had run off to.

"So, shall we go in then? I think the show is about to start." Oliver swiftly steered the conversation elsewhere before they started to ask questions that couldn't be answered.

"If I remember correctly, you used to hate coming to these things?" Laurel scowled at him.

Oliver turned Felicity around and started towards the entrance to the concert hall. "Well, Felicity wanted to see the opera. She's never seen one. So, I thought, why not."

He heard Laurel's surprised 'Oh' closely behind. Felicity gave him a sneaky smile. It seemed he may not have been the only one to have sensed, a tinge of jealousy in Laurel's voice.

At the entrance, they learned that their seats were at the opposite ends of the Grand Tier. While, as always the Royal Box had been reserved for the Queen family, Tommy's invitation was for the Platinum Loge on the other end. Although, they could have easily agreed to sit in one box, none of them suggested it.

There was a reluctance in both parties to invite the other to their Loges. Thus, without much being said, they all seemed to have agreed to go to their own respective boxes.

"So, I guess we'll have to take the other staircase." Tommy took Felicity's hand. "I'll see you later, Oliver's angel." He placed a light kiss on the back of her hand, making her giggle.

Oliver thought he saw his friend flash him a smug smile as he let Felicity's hand go and hooked his arm with Laurel's. Oliver resented his friend unlike ever before. But, was it because of the ease in which he took Laurel's arm or did it have something to do with the giggling blonde?

"See you both later." Laurel smiled as they both headed to the staircase leading to their box.

Once they were out of their scope, Oliver turned to Felicity. "What was that about?"

"What was what about?" Her nose scrunched up as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"The giggling?" No, he didn't care, he was just – curious?

"It tickled," she responded unguardedly.

It tickled? He rolled his eyes at her as they climbed the other staircase.

An usher led them both to the Royal Box while Felicity marveled at the almost a century old structural design of the building.

"Glad you're enjoying the architecture. Because, trust me, there isn't going to be anything much to enjoy in here." Oliver guided her to their seats.

She looked around through her opera glasses. "Oh, look there they are!" Felicity pointed at Laurel and Tommy seated at the far corner of the grand tier. "Do you think she can see us from way over there?"

"If you can see them from way over here, with your opera glasses, she can, too. If she wants to."

Felicity put the glasses down. "And do you think they could see if we hold our hands?"

Oliver knew what exactly she was asking and why. The concrete barrier in front of them was covering them waist down. If they held their hands and kept it between their seats, Laurel wouldn't be able to notice it from where she was. So, he entwined his fingers with hers and brought her hands to his lips. "She will, if I do this." He kissed the soft skin on the back of her hand. For the sake of making her plan a success, of course.

However, his kiss didn't elicit any giggles out of her.

What? That didn't tickle? He turned to her. He was keen to learn why she wasn't reacting the same way as she had earlier, to Tommy's little peck.

He found her staring at him, completely stunned by his gesture instead. Something about the way her eyes shined made him lean in closer to her. Unconsciously, his tongue darted out to wet his own lips, feeling a sudden thirst and a hunger that he probably hadn't ever felt before. He couldn't quite name what he was feeling, but confusing as it was, he knew he didn't hate it.

Abruptly, few of the ceiling lights went off and that helped him come back to reality. The reality, where he was sitting at the Royal Box of the opera house with a blonde, trying to make his soulmate jealous.

Her hand slipped out of his.

"I… I think it's starting," she stammered, slightly leaning forward towards the railing to look at the stage below.

The audience applauded. The curtains slowly opened, revealing the very impressive set design. The orchestra began to play and a man dressed in some kind of a dress sang to the music.

"What is he saying?" Felicity asked.

"No clue." Oliver stared blankly at the opera singer.

For the first few minutes, Felicity was making an effort to like and understand the show. However, just as he had expected, after fifteen minutes or so, he heard her yawning next to him. "This is boring."

He flashed her, an ' _I told you so'_  smirk. To which she replied with a low, almost inaudible grumble.

Sets changed and costumes changed. Half way through the third act, Oliver felt something heavy, but fluffy, softly move against his injured arm. He looked to his side and discovered that it was in fact Felicity. She was asleep and her head was falling towards him. She shifted against his arm and he silently flinched at the pain. He then gently lifted his arm from under her head and draped it over her shoulder. After muttering something she settled down with her head leaning on his side.

A smile graced her lips as she slept, cuddled up to him. She looked to be dreaming and he wondered what a woman like her could possibly be dreaming about. Chocolate mint chip ice cream? Going back home? Wherever that was. Or was she dreaming of someone who she cared about?

He was not as bold as to think that Felicity maybe dreaming about him. Why should she? Who was he to her? Just her ticket to get her wings back? Just someone who she was spying on?

Either way, he found himself smiling, feeling happy. Felicity seemed to have some form a power to make him feel something close to human. And that mere fact scared him.

With a sigh, he set his eyes at the Platinum Loge where Laurel sat. He couldn't really say for sure if Laurel's eyes were on them or on the stage. It was too dark and they were sitting too far apart. But, he realized the distance he felt between them was not just physical. It was not just the fact they were sitting in two different loges on the opposite sides of the Grand Tier. That was not the only reason that made him feel detached from the girl he once thought to have loved. There was some other reason. But, he was afraid to look into them closely.

A woman lamenting, possibly over the death of his love, made Oliver's attention drift towards the stage. The curtains closed shortly afterwards and the crowd cheered. Even amongst the roaring applause, Felicity was still sleeping soundly, tucked under his arm.

He sat there almost until everyone else had gone out of the hall. But, when the usher peeked inside for the third time, he eventually decided to wake her up.

He moved a couple of strands of hair off her face and cooed into her ear. "Felicity, wake up, it's time to go home."

She peeled her eyes open. "Hmm? What? Ok…" She slowly untangled herself from him. "I'm hungry." Were the next words out of her mouth.

"We'll get something on our way to the foundry." He smiled, thinking back to the first night he met her. He recalled, watching her fall in love with his favorite flavor of ice cream that night. He recalled the way she unabashedly licked some ice cream off his finger. "Maybe we'll have some ice cream too?"

"Yeah." She stood up with a smile on her face.

They saw no sign of Tommy and Laurel when they walked out of the hall. Felicity looked too sleepy to worry about, whether they had been successful in showing off a different Oliver Queen to Laurel. She never mentioned or asked over any of it.

When they got to the car, she simply crawled into it and curled up in the car seat. "How is your arm?" she asked groggily, her eyes closing once again.

"Better, I guess." He turned her way and she was already asleep. He took his coat off and put it over her. She purred almost like a cat and nestled into it. He doubted that there was anyone else, who could look so adorable and sensual at the same time , like Felicity did.

He drove off the parking lot completely meaning to go to the foundry, but after few minutes, he realized the roads he was taking wasn't exactly leading there. They in fact led to the Queen mansion.

He had promised himself that he would never again let Felicity spend the night at his house. Although, that didn't necessarily mean he couldn't take her to his place for a sandwich and maybe a few scoops of chocolate mint chip ice cream.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far I've only written 11 chapters. So after this the updates are going to be slow.
> 
> Thanks to KarenfrmMD for betaing.

Her skin burned. Her throat was itchy. Her tongue was a bit swollen and numb, but with a bit of extra effort, Felicity somehow managed to speak. "Oliver, am… am I dying?" It was getting harder and harder to breathe. She felt as if someone was trying to choke her to death, as if someone was squeezing her lungs from the inside.

She couldn't understand what was happening to her. One minute, she was happily eating a peanut butter and a jelly sandwich with Oliver, in his kitchen and now, she was gasping for air in his arms.

"Felicity," he called her as he carried her into a building with bright lights and off white walls. He had one arm wrapped behind her back, cradling her against his chest and had the other arm under her knees. She coiled into his warm and rapidly pounding chest, closing her eyes to evade the blinding lights above her. "Nothing's going to happen to you," he promised.

Her weary eyes flew opened again just to look at him. She could barely maintain her focus, but still, she could discern his clenched jaws and narrowed brows. She wished she wasn't so out of sorts and exhausted, so that she could understand what his face was really saying.

Frenzied footsteps and scrambled voices filled her ears. A little while later, she felt her body being lifted onto what she thought to be a bed. She clung onto whatever part of Oliver's shirt she could get a hold of, in protest. She didn't want to let go of him.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be right here." At Oliver's comforting words, she slowly released him. A shudder ran through her body, feeling the cold bed sheets beneath her. She stared down at herself. Her gown was crumpled and she could see red patches growing all over her arms and legs. "What's… happening… to me?" she asked, panting in between words.

Couple of new faces started to hover around her. They stared inquisitively at her. An unknown man with a mustache, flashed a light into her eyes and she started to panic. "Who… who are you people?"

"Don't worry we're here to help," the man told her.

"I… I… can't…" Her shivering turned worse. Her teeth began to chatter.

"She's going into an anaphylactic shock!" the other new face, yelled.

She needed Oliver. She needed to see him, to know she wasn't alone. "Ol… Olive…er!" She feverishly searched for him, struggling for air, struggling to regain control of her body.

A needle prickled her in her arm and a short whimper escaped her. "Ugh!" Whatever that was, it brought her body to a standstill, and helped subside the pain and the numbness. Soon, her eyelids became heavier and her vision became bleaker.

Felicity felt someone grip her hand. Even without looking, she knew it was Oliver and she already felt safer. Then, another much smaller, softer hand ran across her forehead. She followed the hand to its owner and met Thea's teary eyes. She had almost forgotten that Thea was with them, too.

She could fuzzily remember Thea running into the kitchen hearing Oliver's frantic yells for help. "Ollie and I are going to make sure you're Ok," the younger Queen offered a reassuring smile.

Felicity didn't know that many people. Nonetheless, seeing the two of the three who she trusted the most there -alongside her - calmed her. She knew somehow everything was going to turn out ok. "Good," she muttered weakly, scouring through the unknown faces for Oliver again. She finally saw him. He was standing close by, his hand still clutching hers, his worried eyes fixed on hers.

Over the past two months, they had gotten closer. She may not be able to give a label to their 'relationship', nor did she know if she could call it a 'relationship', but they were not who they were when they had first met. All those days spent at that café, talking, smiling and holding hands, and all those days and nights spent at the foundry with him, seemed to have changed something within her. And, at times like these, when he looked at her as so, she wanted to believe he too felt the same shift in their unusual relationship.

She forced a smile on her face and squeezed his hand to let him know that she was going to be alright. He mustered a weak smile of his own and gave her hand a light squeeze in return.

"You're going to be fine." A man wearing a white coat and a pair of spectacles appeared out of nowhere, blocking her view of Oliver. A doctor? Felicity was able to guess amid the haze and she finally realized that she maybe in a hospital.

"Make… sure … I don't … die before…" Her mouth had gone dry and her voice had become hoarse. She had to stop talking momentarily to try and find her voice again. "I don't want to die before… I finish what…. I came here to do." If she died now, Oliver may not ever find his happiness. He may not ever be able to be with his true love, Laurel. Something stung in her chest at that revelation and she wasn't able to comprehend why. Or maybe she already knew why, and was just too scared to acknowledge it.

"Shh… shh… just get some rest," Oliver's voice was soft as a whisper. It lulled her into a sense of peace and she shut her eyes.

She could hear the men and women - who she was now convinced were doctors -bustling around her. They put some kind of an apparatus over her nose and mouth, and instantly her lungs felt much lighter. She didn't need to struggle as much to breathe anymore. "And I … I don't want to… not see you again," she slurred. She didn't know why she had said that. Neither did she know if anyone had heard her over the contraption put over her mouth. But, before she could think about it for long, sleep came over her.

_At the feel of someone tugging on her hand, she opened her sleep heavy eyelids. Where was Oliver? And Thea? Where was everyone? She looked about bewildered, finding herself alone in the hospital room._

_She was no longer in her gorgeous red dress, but in one of those baby blue hospital gowns. The room seemed different than she remembered. Not that she remembered much. Everything had happened in a hurry, in a blur._

_Even so, she recalled enough to know there was something completely amiss about the place now. It was strangely quiet and brighter._

" _Felicity." A shadow of a man fell up on the wall next to her and her eyes ran to the window. Its blinds were pulled apart completely. Sunlight bursting through the blank window made it impossible for her to recognize the figure she found standing in front of it._

_She felt she should jump off the bed and run, but alas she couldn't even move her legs. She couldn't find the energy to do anything much other than scream, "Oliver!" She eyed the exit, hoping he would burst in through the closed door any moment and rescue her. "Oliver!" she yelled again._

" _Hello, Felicity." The shadowy figure emerged and Felicity recognized the man – no, the deity._

" _Cupid?"_

" _Are you alright?" He gave his usual smile and spread his glorious wings._

_She anxiously held the sheets spread over her, afraid that he would drag her out of bed and take her with him. "Oh, no! Did I die? Did I die before finishing my job? No… No! I have to help Oliver! I can't go! I can't leave him like this!" She remembered how broken Oliver had looked earlier. She didn't even get a chance to properly say goodbye. "I can't! I don't want to leave him!"_

_Cupid raised a questioning brow at her._

" _I mean not, yet!" she clarified quickly, but she wasn't sure why she felt as if she was had just lied to her boss. Did she really want to stay here? Forever? No! She quickly banished the thought to some place, where she hoped it could never resurface from._

_He laughed at her. "Don't worry. You're not dead. This is just a dream."_

" _Oh?" She stared at the blonde deity._

_During the last few weeks she had seen a great deal of dreams. Most of them were snippets and didn't make much sense. Some were forgotten the moment she opened her eyes. But some - like the one she had earlier, while sleeping cuddled next to Oliver at the opera, could not be forgotten even if she had tried._

_She had dreamt of both of them, lying on his bed - the comfy king sized bed in his room. What they were wearing or if they were wearing anything, was not so clear. However, she could feel that her legs were entangled with his._

_In this particular dream of hers, he was drawing lazy patterns on her bare arms as her own hands explored the planes of his face._

_He shifted closer to her and laid a deft kiss upon her cheek. It was strange how his kisses had the ability to send a jolt of electricity down her spine, even in her dreams. Oh, how her skin practically burnt wherever his lips, his hands would touch - in her dreams and in real life._

" _I'm not real." Cupid sauntered even closer._

_That explained the weirdness, Felicity thought. "So, you're not here to take me back? My three months are still not up, right?"_

_While she impatiently waited for his answer, the room turned into some place she didn't recognize. A room with glass walls and black tiles. The man, who she had recognized as Cupid, only just a second ago, no longer looked like him. He had morphed into a man wearing some kind of a veil over his face. A hood? Was it 'The hood'? Was it Oliver?_

_The stranger's gloved hand landed on her neck, at her pulse point. She gasped at the feel of his intimidating touch. "I can't let you go home, Felicity!" He began to strangle her. "I can't let you go!" His voice was deep as the one Oliver made, when he put his hood on, but - but it couldn't be Oliver! He wouldn't do this! He wouldn't hurt her! This couldn't be him?_

_It wasn't! It couldn't be!_

_She kicked her feet to no avail as she struggled to make the man let go of her neck. "No!" she yelled out repeatedly, until she couldn't talk anymore._

"Felicity… Wake up! You're having a nightmare," Oliver's voice jerked her awake.

Her head hurt as if she had had another hangover and her vision was more than a little blurry. She blinked few times and slowly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. As the mist over her eyes began to clear up, she saw Oliver peering down at her.

"Good morning," he greeted. She felt as if she was sleeping beauty and he was her prince charming, who had been waiting for her to wake up.

She really needed to tell Thea that she didn't want to do any more Disney movie marathons with her. Sweet as the stories were, they were messing with her head. They were definitely influencing her in a very dangerous way.

She rubbed her neck, suddenly remembering the cold hand that had smothered her in her nightmare. She could still feel the callous grip of the unknown man, from her horrid dream. Yet, bizarrely, she was more upset to realize that her neck was bare. Her gold necklace was missing. "Oliver!" She had lost it! Her precious necklace that motivated her to strive for Oliver's trust was gone. Her beautiful necklace Oliver had given her was gone! It may have been a tracker, his motives may not have been true, when he had gifted it to her, but she had become attached to it - too attached.

"Hey, it's ok… it's with me. You can wear it after you get out of here," Oliver replied as if he had read her mind, and she just quietly stared at him in wonderment.

His usually bright eyes were weathered by lack of sleep and concern. He was still wearing the same shirt and pants he had worn to their date at the opera. The top two buttons were left undone and his sleeves were rolled up. The bow tie, she last remembered loosely hanging on his neck, was no longer there.

"Felicity?" He traced her jaw line with the paddings of his fingers. So softly, as though he was afraid he would break her. It should be surprising to see a man who had the ability to take a life, with a flick of a finger, be so gentle and tender. But, it wasn't. She wasn't surprised the least. She knew he wasn't just the "hood'. She knew he was not at all the 'Ollie', who he pretended to be in front of the rest of the world.

He was  _this_  man, who was standing next to her. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Hmm…" She leaned into his touch, trapping his hand in the crook of her neck. "I am now," she mouthed, closing her eyes just for a second, simply to file the memory.

In another month or so, she would be gone and she had to make sure these little moments were not forgotten. Once her time on earth came to an end, memories maybe the only thing that she would be able to take back home.

"Good." A faint, yet a real smile livened up Oliver's face and she smiled back at him. Their eyes stayed fixed on one another, telling things that neither really seemed to know how to say out loud.

"Oliver, what's wrong?" She noticed his smile fade, little by little. It was something that happened often. He never allowed himself to be happy for long.

He looked away from her. "You had an allergic reaction to peanuts."

That sounded silly to her for some reason. She had gone through all this trouble, because of bit of peanut butter?

"What?" Felicity laughed a little and then paused. Her stare fell on Oliver's guilt stricken face. It took her a moment to understand that he was blaming himself for everything. He thought he was responsible for her falling ill, because he had given her that sandwich, last night? Apparently, he seemed to have forgotten that she had begged him to make that sandwich for her.

Felicity had seen someone on TV eat a peanut butter and a jelly sandwich and she had been craving to taste one ever since. The first night, when she had raided Oliver's kitchen, the peanut butter jar had been empty. And she had never had a chance to try it out. So, she had insisted on eating one last night.

"Hey." She put her hands on either side of her and tried to push herself up into a seated position. Oliver quickly helped her adjust and put a pillow between the headboard and her. She captured his hand before he moved back. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. I mean even I didn't know," she argued, enlacing her fingers with his and bringing their hands to rest on her lap.

"But, I feel like I should have known better." He tried to avoid her eyes again.

She tugged his hand and made him look at her. "I don't remember you forcing me to eat it?" she contested.

"But, you could have-" His hand went rigid and cold in hers. His eyes dropped to their hands for a mere second. "Died…" he mumbled, eventually lifting his head to look at her. It felt as it had taken a lot out of him to just to say that one word. He was nothing but fierce and fearless, when it came to facing the most dangerous criminals in the city. But now he was standing there looking anything but fierce or fearless.

She had rarely seen him like this - so scared and so broken. Come to think of it, she had only seen him like this only once before. It was after he had rescued her from those two attackers at the Glades.

"But, I didn't," she pointed out putting on another brave smile. "You saved me. You brought me here. You saved me just like you saved me, from those two men at the Glades." He seemed determined to withdraw his hand, withdraw himself, but she was even more determined to not to let him move. She held on to his hand tightly.

He heaved out a tense sigh and leaned closer to her. His scent surrounded her. The proximity overwhelmed her. Her heart raced as his face stopped just inches away from her. "Don't ever scare me like this again," he whispered in a voice strangled with a whirlwind of emotions.

Her stomach did a strange flip and her head hurt, at all the conclusions her brain was trying to make of his words. He put his free hand on her shoulder and that weird feeling rippled down her spine again. She turned so warm so quickly, she feared that the flimsy hospital gown would go aflame any moment.

"Felicity," he said her name in a way only he could and her hooded eyes gradually closed. The bed dipped beside her. Those few times their lips had touched, played in Felicity's mind like a movie trailer and she swallowed thickly as expectations blossomed.

His lips landed on her brow, giving rise to another heat wave. This time, spreading from her temple to down to her toes. She felt alive, relieved, happy and ironically, disappointed at where his lips had ended up landing.

When her eyes eventually opened she found Oliver sitting beside her. His face still hovering close, his lips coasting mere millimeters away from hers. "What kind of a cupid lets his angels fall in danger and just watch? What kind of a cupid lets someone like you even near someone like me?" he almost growled, his stare never wavering from her lips.

Her breathing quickened and a flush warmed her cheeks. She licked her peeling lips and urged herself to speak. "He knows things we don't," she uttered softly, afraid if she would move her lips too much, she would accidentally brush her lips against his very alluring ones. "Maybe he trusts you to keep me safe. Maybe he believes in you, like I beli-" She stopped short seeing a flicker of something powerful and magnetic flashing in his eyes.

"Felicity…" There, he said her name again as if she was something precious.

"Yay! You're finally awake!" An excited Thea popped into the room. She was hugging a massive teddy bear in one hand and holding a heart shaped balloon on the other.

Oliver was on his feet in a flash. "Thea? I thought you went home?" He stepped away from the bed and stood with his arms hanging awkwardly at his sides.

Diggle entered the room shortly, behind Thea. He gave Felicity a slight nod and stood near the door, showcasing his best 'bodyguard pose'.

"I did and now I'm back – bearing gifts!" The young girl lifted the teddy bear up slightly and waved the balloon. "How are you feeling?" she asked, pushing Oliver aside and taking over his spot.

"Ok…" Felicity answered, staring at her hands. She was already missing the soothing effect of Oliver's touch. She missed him even though he was standing just few feet away. Was it normal? Or was it a symptom of the peanut allergy thing he was talking about? Or was it a side effect of the human medicine they had given her? It had to be the latter, she concluded. Because, there was no way, this feeling - this tingling sensation she felt, could be considered normal.

"You gave us a quite a scare last night." Thea placed the teddy bear up on the drawer, beside the bed and tied the balloon to the headboard. "I wanted to get you flowers, but I wasn't sure if you have any other allergies. So … I thought I'd get you these. Just to be on the safe side."

Felicity craned her neck up to read the silver lettering on the balloon. "It's a girl?" she read it out loud.

"It's all they had at the gift shop. Sorry." Thea turned around towards Oliver with a sheepish grin. He was staring at the pink, heart shaped balloon as if he was caught in some deep thought. "Hey, Ollie, did you talk with the doctor? The nurse said she might be able to go home today," Thea probed.

"Eh… what?" Oliver's eyes moved confusedly between the balloon and Felicity for a moment.

"Never mind, we'll talk to the doctor later." The younger Queen rolled her eyes at her brother and sat on one of the chairs next to the bed. "And, Felicity, I don't know if Mr. grumpy face over here told you or not, but you had an allergic reaction to peanuts. So, that means no more peanuts or peanut butter for you, from now on!" Thea advised.

Peanut butter may not have been Felicity's favorite, but the thought that she may not ever be able to taste it again, made her want it more. "Never? Or until I get better? Or… is it like that one time, you told me that I should probably stay away from caffeine when it's that time of the month, because caffeine normally makes your cramps worse?"

Felicity spotted the two men in the room share awkward glances and shift on their feet as if they were planning to flee.

Thea leaned forward on her chair. "I think we might have to have one of those girl talks again, soon," she muttered between her teeth.

Felicity looked at the brunette dumbfounded. Another one of those talks? What did she say this time?

"I'm going to …just… go and..." Diggle trailed off as he made a quick exit.

"I think you might have scared off Ollie's bodyguard," Thea joked as she grabbed a magazine off the drawer near her. "So…" She started to just casually flip through the glossy pages. "Ollie, is she coming to the mansion with us today?"

The thought of going back to the mansion, didn't feel like the best of ideas. It was not just because Felicity feared meeting Moira Queen again. Well, she may have been a big part of it. Nevertheless, Moira Queen wasn't the only reason Felicity dreaded the thought of going back to the mansion.

Last night, sitting on the little bar stool in the kitchen, watching Oliver make her that sandwich had made her want things. She had started to want things that she had never thought she would want – a home, a family, someone to care for and someone that cared for her. It wasn't the same want she had for ice cream. It was more complicated than that.

She kept picturing herself waking up every morning and walking into the kitchen and finding Oliver there. She kept picturing Oliver making her breakfast every morning and a mid-night snack every night. These new needs and wants scared her. They made her not want to set foot in that mansion.

She was never supposed to need or want things. Maybe, she just wanted these things because she knew she couldn't really have them - ever.

Just like how she now craved for peanuts, because she knew she couldn't have it anymore.

"So, it's true?" An icy voice came from the doorway. There stood the Queen Monarch with her perfectly groomed hair and perfect clothes. Moira Queen had a cold grace about her that made everyone else feel as though, they were mere peasants.

"Mom?" The Queen children turned around at the same time, mirroring the same shocked expression.

Moira stared somewhere over Felicity's head and scowled. "And, she's pregnant?" she spat venomously.

Felicity's hand went to her stomach. "I'm pregnant?" Whatever Thea had told her didn't suggest she could get pregnant after eating peanuts.

"No! She's not pregnant," Oliver said in a stern voice.

"Oh?" Though Felicity's shock wore off quickly with those words, the realization that she may never get to experience something like that hit her hard. She patted her flat tummy, feeling an emptiness she had never felt before.

"That's just… just the only balloon I could find." Thea glanced at her mother guiltily.

"Then why did you marry her if she's not pregnant? Why did you marry her even without telling your own mother?" Moira looked over at her son demanding an explanation.

"I didn't!" Oliver replied promptly.

His mother sighed, with one hand on her chest. She appeared extremely relieved to hear that his son was not married to some lowly, nobody like Felicity. "But, why couldn't I come out of the Airport without the paparazzi hounding me about my son eloping with some unknown woman?"

"Ok, I might have had something to do with that, too. Ollie asked me to fill out the forms and I might have, sort of… put her last name as Queen…" Thea replied, trying not to look at her mother in the eye.

Oliver seemed as surprised and angry as his mother at Thea's clarification. He gave his sister a deadly glare before turning to face his mother. "It's just a misunderstanding mom. She's just a friend."

Felicity should be glad that Oliver at least had called her a friend. The man who didn't trust her not long ago - the man who put a tracker on her necklace, was calling her a friend. She should be ecstatic about it. She should be dancing over it. However, that wasn't the case. She didn't know what place she wished to have in his life, but hearing him call her 'just' a friend, didn't really make her feel all that great.

Perhaps, it was just what he wanted his mother to believe. Perhaps, in reality he may not even consider her a friend. All that worrying over her being sick could just be because he was afraid she would die before getting him his soulmate back.

"I thought my days of dealing with your extra-curricular activities with the press were over," Moira griped.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen, I didn't know-" Felicity began to apologize, but she was cut off by the woman.

"You're that… that girl from that morning!" Moira stared at Felicity as if she had seen a ghost. "Are you sure she's just a friend, Oliver?"

Felicity was just as interested to hear his answer as his mother was.

Hope built in her heart at the way he glanced at her. "Yes, I'm sure," he replied, disappointing Felicity yet again.

"Anyway, I'm going to tell the press, it's just a big misunderstanding." Moira quirked an eyebrow. It almost seemed as if she was trying to coax a different answer out of Oliver. As if somehow, she didn't believe Oliver was telling her the whole truth.

"But, she's coming home with us today." The note of finality in Oliver's voice made Moira stare at her son slightly taken aback.

"Please, mom! She's my friend too and she doesn't have anyone in Starling to take care of her. So, please!" The young girl begged, pouting her lips and batting her eyelids.

"Fine!" Not even The Moira Queen was immune to Thea's pouts.

Though Felicity didn't want to stay at the mansion, she knew neither Thea nor Oliver would let her have her way now. Thus, she decided it would be better if she could get on Moira Queen's good side. "Mrs. Queen, I promise I will stay out of your way. You wouldn't even notice I'm there. I will stay out of trouble… And I promise not to eat any nuts or not to even touch anyone's nuts ever again," Felicity said to Moira with lot of conviction. "I don't think I'd get sick by just touching them, but-"

Thea burst into a laugh beside her while Oliver tried to look not so amused.

"What's so funny?" Felicity frowned at the three Queen family members standing around her bed.

"Is she on something?" The mother asked, with her brows knotted together.

Thea put her hand over her mouth and shook her head to say 'no'. "You're going to love her, mom!" she added.

"I doubt that." Moira Queen threw another disapproving stare at Felicity and stomped out of the room.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, hope you enjoy this.  
> Thanks to KarenfrmMD for checking this chapter!!

There was a slight hesitancy in Felicity’s steps as she climbed up the stairs.  Her left hand was sliding tentatively up on the railing and her feet were moving in a careful pace.  Oliver amounted it to the fact that his dear mother was standing right below the staircase, watching.  As most of his ex-girlfriends used to call it, his mother was giving his angel ‘the look’ - the one of a fierce lioness, trying to keep her pride safe.

 “I’m so happy that mom agreed to let you stay here.  We’re going to have so much fun!” Thea squealed, dragging Felicity into the hallway and towards her room.

 Oliver was following them.  He didn’t have to, but he was.  The thought of Felicity sleeping in the mansion, but not in his room, just didn’t set well with him.  There was something not right about the whole situation.  But he knew he had no say on the matter anymore.  He had run out of excuses and reasons to keep her there, in his bedroom.  Certainly, none that his mother and sister would accept or he could say without revealing his own secrets.

 His stomach did a weird little summersault as they walked passed his room.  His eyes quickly flicked to the closed door and to the blonde.  Surprisingly, her eyes were fixed on him.  Did she also feel that same heaviness in her chest that he felt?

 “Let’s make tonight a Disney Movie night!  You love those movies, right?  Ooh, how about Beauty and the Beast?”  Thea clapped her hands together, delighted over her own bright idea.  It was rather endearing to see his baby sister, who usually was in a hurry to grow up, getting so excited over the idea of watching a Disney Movie.  “I think you’ll love it.  It’s about this beast that falls in love with a beautiful girl … and she’s-”

 Felicity’s eyes snapped around at Thea.  “No more Disney Movies!” she stated in an authoritative tone, startling Thea in the process.

 “Ok?  What’s gotten into you?” his sister scowled.

 Thea was right.  Clearly, there was something going on with Felicity.  He could just hear it in her voice.  He could just feel it.  He had sensed it even few hours ago, when they were all sitting at the dinner table.  She had been acting strange the whole night and had not been her talkative self.  Was it only because she felt intimidated by his mother or was there something else?  Had he or someone said something to upset her in some way?

 Oliver saw the back of Felicity’s blonde head move, as if to say ‘no’.  “Nothing’s gotten in to me…” she claimed in a quiet voice and just continued to walk.

 Couple of more turns and they reached Thea’s room.  Oliver stayed few steps behind them and watched as his sister struggle with the door knob.  When the door eventually opened she stepped in, unaware that Felicity was still standing outside, staring at him.  Her tired eyes held his gaze in place and he found his feet to be moving almost magically towards her.

 He could have been simply seeing what he wanted to see, but Felicity looked as if she was asking him to take her away with him.

 “Felicity!” Thea yelled from her room and the blonde hastily spun around to her voice.

 “Hey…”Oliver managed to catch Felicity’s hand, just before she entered Thea’s brightly colored bedroom.

 “Hey?”  She turned to him easily, as if she had been expecting him to stop her.

 “Felicity… I…”  He didn’t know what he really was supposed to say now that he had her in his grasp.

 He could faintly hear his sister moving around in her room, saying something about superhero movies and their childhood in the background.  But, nothing really registered in his brain, except for the way Felicity uttered his name.  “Oliver?”  There was something about the way she said his name.  Never Ollie, always Oliver.  And, last night, he had thought he would never get to hear her call his name like that again.  He had thought he had lost her - killed her, in fact.  The mere thought of walking into the foundry and not seeing her smile, not being able to hear her voice, bothered him more than it should.

 His eyes fell to her delicate hand that was in his clasp.  Small, soft, but a bit rough on one finger - mark of an archer in training.

 Whether the action was deliberate or an accident, he didn’t know, but he felt her thumb run across the back of his hand.  For the first time in a long while he believed all those sins he had committed with that very hand could someday be forgiven and forgotten.

 What was she doing to him?  He was beginning to feel something he had thought he would never feel again.  Hope?  Or perhaps, there something more to it than that.

 He studied her.  White t-shirt and blue jeans, hugging her petite frame.  Unruly locks, clinging to her bare neck.  Lips parting and eyelids fluttering as his eyes met hers again.  How could she be anything but an angel?

 Then again, believing in that one miniscule detail meant he had to believe in many other things- Cupids, magical arrows, soulmates and whatnot.  And, he wasn’t quite sure he was ready and willing to believe in all of it.

 “Oliver, are you ok?” her voice shook him awake from his musings.

 Oliver nodded warily.  “Yeah.”  He then put his free hand into his back pocket and pulled out her necklace.  “I just thought you might want this back…”  He flipped her hand over and placed it on her palm.

 She clutched the chain firmly and smiled at him.  “Thank you.”  Her hand then slid out from his grasp, leaving just her warmth to remain on his palm.  He quickly fisted his hand, as though to make sure that feeling would not ever escape.

 “Thank you,” she repeated as she held the jewelry close to her heart.  She cherished it so much and he could never truly fathom why.  To him, it was a just cruel reminder of how he had hurt her the night of the gala.

 “So, what’s it going to be?”  Thea emerged from the room holding up ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ DVDs.  In spite of Felicity’s very clear rebuttal to watch the cartoon, Thea still seemed determined change her mind.  She was trying to entice her angel friend by flashing the colorful DVD cover at her face.  “Billionaire turned superhero or the monster turning good for the love of a good woman?”

 Felicity took the iron man DVD out of Thea’s hand and turned it over to read the synopsis.  “I … I think I’ll go with the Billionaire turned superhero…”

 Something twitched in his gut at her choice, at her words, but he tried not to read too much into it.

 “Ok, then,” Thea sighed in disappointment and tugged Felicity inside.  “I guess, we’ll see you tomorrow morning, Ollie.  Goodnight!”

 Oliver just about managed to catch a glimpse of Felicity’s eyes before the door closed.  He slowly backed away from his sister’s room when all he wanted to do was to open the damn door and take Felicity to his.  He may not have been sure why he had such a burning need to whisk the blonde away, but he could no longer fool himself into believing it was only because he had to keep tabs on the woman.

 He ran his hands through his hair, feeling as if he was about to lose his mind.  And, it was just not acceptable to lose his mind over a girl who called herself an angel - a girl, who would probably leave his world in few more weeks.

 So, instead of retreating to his lonely bedroom, he decided to go down to the pool for a late night swim.  The cold water and the exercise he supposed would help him not think so much about the blonde.

 He had only been to the indoor swimming pool once, ever since he had returned from Lian Yu.  Apart from the new lounging chairs, it didn’t seem as if time had done anything much to the place.

 He turned few of the lights on and stripped down to his boxers.  After taking a long deep breath, he jumped into the sparkling body of water.  Compared to the rough conditions he had faced on the island, the cold chlorine water was nothing to him.  It didn’t even make him flinch.

 He swam from one end of the large pool to the other.  But, however fast he swam, he couldn’t escape those recurring images of Felicity.   Her smile, her eyes followed him. He just couldn’t forget the way she had been laying on that hospital bed.  He just couldn’t make himself forget, how completely helpless and desperate he had felt last night as he carried her to that hospital.

 He stopped swimming and slammed the water in frustration.  His eyes scanned the vicinity.  Though he could clearly see a means to get out of the pool, he felt completely lost.

 “Oliver, are you in here?”  For a moment he thought he was hearing things.  He turned about and saw the barefooted blonde slowly approaching the pool.

 What was she doing there?  And, why was she wearing his t-shirt again?

 “Felicity?”

 She was eying the water.  Her fingers nervously gathering the t-shirt at her waist, inadvertently making the garment appear even shorter.

“Shouldn’t you be watching the billionaire turned superhero movie?” he grumbled.  He had come there to basically to dodge all things Felicity, but here she was standing so innocently, adorably – sexily?  He quickly wiped his face with his cold hand to block those wayward thoughts.

“I did…” she said, stopping at the edge of the pool.

Had he really been there that long?  Had he been so immersed in his thoughts that he hadn’t even realized that he had been there for the length of a superhero movie?

“And Thea is asleep… So I… I went to your room looking for you- your t-shirt... and then I got kind of lost and somehow ended up here…” she mumbled as she sat down, on the tiled floor, legs folded in lotus position.

“You shouldn’t be here.  I mean you should be resting…”  He floated closer to her and something told him that it was not a wise decision.

“Ah, it’s so cold!”  She shivered as she dipped her toes and tested the cold water.  Her face shimmered blue as the pool water reflected on her face.  She no doubt looked an enchanted being sent from heaven merely to enrapture him.  Yet, still amidst the glow, he could see that she hadn’t yet fully recovered from last night’s events.

“You really shouldn’t be here.”  Sure, he was afraid for her health, but more than that he was afraid of what his suppressed hormones may provoke him to do.

“I can’t sleep,” she confessed staring vacantly at her own reflection on the water.

The pool was not that deep at that end, so he was able to walk even closer to her rather easily.  “Why?  What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.”  She was fiddling with her necklace.  Flipping it, turning it – repeatedly.

He took another stride and caught the heart shaped pendant.  “Why do you keep wearing this thing?”  The little tug on the chain made her lean down towards him a little.  They were not on the same eye level yet, but another tug and she was.

Tendrils of gold hair fell upon his face and some form of a sweet ache formed in the pit of his stomach.  He cupped her cheek with his other hand.  Her skin felt, soft and scorching hot against his callous skin.

“Because, it’s-” she paused, her eyes falling to his advancing lips.  “Oliver, what are you do-“  Before she could ever complete her question, she had fallen into the water with a splash.  He didn’t know if he had pulled on the chain too hard or she had slipped.  But, because of one reason or the other, she was now flapping her arms and legs everywhere, trying to stay afloat.

“Felicity, it’s alright… I got you…I got you, it’s alright.”  He grabbed her by her waist and tried to steady her.  She probably could have been able to stand if she would have just calmed down.  He held her face with both his hands.  “Felicity!” he yelled, staring into her eyes and that finally got her attention.  Her eyes slowly relaxed.  Coughing out a bit of water, she let her body fall on him for support.  “Are you ok?”

“Ah ha...” Felicity nodded, panting, her warm breath falling on his chest.  Feel of her wet frame against his, had him biting on his lower lip.

 She then gently pulled back and looked around her as if she was trying to understand how she had ended up in the pool.  She looked so tiny, standing trapped between the pool wall and him.  “Ugh! You made me so wet!” she blurted, naively.

He bit harder on his lip, imagining her saying those exact words to him, under quite different circumstances.  It only took that one thought for him to lose all his willpower.  He drew her closer by her necklace and just kissed her, eliciting a surprised squeak out of her.

It may have started off as a soft brush.  Yet, it very soon turned brutal and wanton.  His hand tightened on her small waist, greedy fingers digging deep into her skin.

Though Felicity’s lips stayed parted, she seemed too stunned to kiss him back.  His brain kept warning him to stop doing this– whatever this was.  But, every other part of his body urged him to keep holding onto her.  Keep kissing her.  So he did.  At least, he tried to.

“No!” Felicity squirmed out of his hold and glared at him.  “What was that?”  She put a hand over her mouth.

“I thought you were going to babble…”  He couldn’t come up with a better excuse.  He seemed to be getting worse at those lately.

“I was?”  She frowned not believing him and staggered backwards until her back met the barrier behind her.  “But… But you can’t do that… I don’t think it’s right!  Because, Laurel and you… you and Laurel… you can’t do this!“

She muttered a few more fragmented sentences and climbed out of the pool.  “You - we shouldn’t… we can’t do this… anymore...“ she said, staring down at him.  Water dripped down from her wet t-shirt, forming a little puddle around her feet.  “I mean, because of Laurel… I mean, this isn’t right,” she reminded him yet again.

He gritted his teeth together.  Laurel!  Of course, how could he have forgotten?  Even when Felicity had thought she was about to die, all she had been worried about was how she wouldn’t be able to get him together with his soulmate.  How could he have forgotten?  Laurel was his soulmate and all Felicity wanted to do was to get them together, so that she could have her wings back.  She had never wanted anything more.  And, he, too, probably had only kissed her, because of her stupid little innuendoes and probably- most probably, because of the way that wet t-shirt was sticking to her body.  Any man or woman would have been tempted.

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again!  It was just – a misunderstanding…”  He didn’t want to sound so bitter.  He didn’t want to sound as though he was hurt.  But, the words had just spilled out sounding that way.

“Good…” she said before running off, just like she had done the last time they had kissed.  But, this time around, it was he who had initiated the kiss and promised not to kiss her again.

After lingering in the pool for few more minutes, he slowly got out of the water.  He left his clothes as they were and put on one of the white robes he found lying on a chair.  

Oliver wandered up to his room, feeling angry and bitter about everything.  He was livid at her for ever showing up in his already messed up life.  He was livid with himself for losing control and kissing her again.

He opened the bedroom door with a hard push.  He was about to turn the lights on when he saw something move on his bed.  His first instinct was to attack, but then he soon realized that there was no need for it.  Because, it was just Felicity.  She was sleeping in his bed curled into a ball and by the look of it, she was in one of his dress shirts.

What did she want from him?  Just few minutes ago, she had run away from him.  And now, she was invading his bed, wearing his shirt!

He closed the door and marched forward with the sole intention of asking her to move out.  However, as he got closer to her and heard the little sleeping sounds she made, his anger gradually began to dissipate.  He stood near the bed, watching her.  His anger, he soon learned, had completely subsided and had been replaced by something much tender.  It was the same warm feeling he had felt earlier in the day, at the hospital, when Felicity had first opened her eyes.

He had been so hardhearted for so long, he felt as if he no longer had the ability discern what he was feeling and why.  Maybe he had never really felt these things before.  He hated her for confusing him as so.  No!  That was just a blatant lie he sometimes told himself.  He didn’t hate her.  He was just frustrated with her!

Felicity suddenly turned to her side and hugged his pillow tightly.  She looked as if she had always belonged there, in his bed, in his shirt and in his life.  That little thought forced him to take a quick step back, away from the bed.  Thoughts like those were dangerous.  Thoughts like those never should be in his head to begin with.

So, rather than crawling into his side of the bed, he thought he would take the floor for the night.  He was more comfortable on the floor anyway, he convinced himself.  He changed into his sleepwear and lay on the floor.  It was difficult for him to not to pay attention to the little creaks the bed made every time Felicity turned in his bed. It was even more difficult to ignore those little whimpering noises she made, which sounded somewhat like his name.

He kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling, resolute on evading the woman sleeping in his bed.

  _Darkness slowly grew around him as time ticked by.  Nostalgic sounds of rain falling upon a leafy floor resonated within the room and he quickly sat upright.  He blinked in disbelief finding himself back on that island again.  Lian Yu, the place, where he lost his humanity and his innocence.  The place, where he had left the twenty three year old Ollie behind._

  _He started running through the woods for no apparent reason.  From whom or where he was running to, he had no clue.  But, he kept running.  He kept running until he heard a cry.  He stopped dead in his tracks at the sound and looked behind him to see who it was._

  _A woman was lying on the forest floor, looking very pale and lifeless.  Though he couldn’t yet see who it was, his heart thud against his chest, when he realized that she was a blonde.  He ran towards her hoping that she was not who he thought.  He cruelly and selfishly wanted to believe that it was some other blonde._

  _But, secretly, he knew the woman lying on the ground, wearing a hospital gown could only be ‘her’.  “Felicity?”  He knelt beside her and turned her over.  Her body was cold and limp, as if she had been under water for quite some time.  “Wake up!”  He shook her, but there was no movement, no change.  She just lay there, with her eyes shut._

  _He placed his ear over her heart in search of a heartbeat, but he couldn’t even hear a faint hum.  “No!  This can’t be happening!  No!”  He screamed holding her close to his chest.  This was not what was supposed to happen.  This was not how she was supposed to leave him!_

  _“Oliver,” he turned around, feeling a warm hand on his shoulder.  “Oliver, It’s going to be alright.”  It was Felicity.  She was standing behind him, wearing her angel uniform.  A bright light shined over her and she had a pair of wings spread wide behind her._

  _The mere sight of her soothed him somewhat.  He looked down at his hands and was shocked to realize that the cold body he had been holding onto, had somehow vanished._

  _“Just close your eyes and lie down.  You’re going to be alright,” she told him, her fingers brushing his set jaw._

  _He obeyed her without even saying a word._

  _“Just sleep.” She whispered._

  _He rested on his side and Felicity lay next to him.  “Everything’s going to be alright.”  She scooted closer to him and ran her fingers through his hair._

  _He closed his eyes and let himself drift back into a sleep._

 When he woke up the next morning and saw that he was still in his bedroom, he realized that he had dreamt it all.  Well, maybe not all.  Because, the beautiful young woman sleeping on the floor next to him, with her arm wrapped around his middle, made him think that some of it may have actually happened.  Probably, not the part where Felicity had turned into an actual angel with a pair of wings, but the part where she had helped him calm down and go back to sleep.

 He hadn’t had a nightmare in a while and he once again wondered whether Felicity’s presence in his life had something to do with that.  It was at moments like these that made him want to believe that she really was an angel - his angel.

 “Oliver?” His mother’s voice came from behind the closed door.  “Oliver!” she called again, knocking on the door.

 He carefully removed Felicity’s hand from him and stood up.  He stared at her for a second more and quietly thanked her for being there for him.

 Upon hearing another tap, he walked over to the door.  “Mom?”  He kept the door half closed and half opened, so that she wouldn’t see the girl lying on the floor.

 “Sorry to wake you up, Oliver, but-”

 “Oliver?  Is everything alright?”  Felicity sleepily walked over to him and pushed the door open, just a little bit more.  Her eyes went wide, seeing his mother there.  “Oh!  Mrs. Queen!”  She tried to fix her messy head of hair and the dress shirt which apparently wasn’t buttoned all the way up.

 “Mom...I-”

 She put her hand up and stopped him.  “You’re an adult, Oliver, you don’t have to explain… but, sometimes I just wish…”  She just let out an exasperated sigh, just like most mothers would do when they felt let down by their child.  It was a sigh Oliver had become quite accustomed to over the years.

 “I have a meeting with Lucius Fox at Wayne Enterprises today,” she changed the topic, quickly, transforming herself from the worried mother to the crude business women that had much more important matters to take care of.  “So, I will be flying off to Gotham in a few minutes.  And I won’t be back ‘til tomorrow morning.  So, just … Just try to stay out of trouble and out of the tabloids,” she warned him and walked away, but not before giving Felicity another one of her looks.

 “Your mother is never going to like me!” Felicity whined, just as she was out of their sight.

 Oliver shrugged.  His mother was a complex woman.  She had only ever come close approving just one girl amongst many he had brought up to his room.  That was Laurel Lance.  Even then, he wasn’t sure if his mother ever genuinely liked her.  Yet, he was certain that she thought Laurel, being the ambitious and level headed girl she was, that she would probably be able to turn him into the son she wanted – turn him into a man deserving of the Queen family name.

 “This is going to be my third mission.  I’m going to make your mother like me!” Felicity stated determinedly.

 “Third mission?  What’s the second one?”  He knew what the first one was.  But, there was a second one?

 “Yeah, the third mission,” she admitted.  “First one, of course is getting you together with Laurel.  And the second one….”  She eyed the gold chain on her neck.  “The second one is getting you to trust me.”  Flashing a timid smile, she turned around and walked towards the bathroom.

 He understood it now, why she wore that tracker around her neck.  It was not because she thought it looked beautiful on her.  It did, but that was beside the point. It seemed she wore it just to remind herself of the second mission she had taken upon herself.  For some reason, he resented the tracker even more.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a long time to update. 
> 
> Huge thanks to KarenfrmMD for going over this chapter
> 
> I will post a beta read version soon.

**Chapter 13**

Tonight, Verdant was buzzing with a new kind of verve. It seemed Tommy's Halloween themed night had become a hit.

Sitting on one of the bar stools, Oliver observed the madness unfolding around him. There were zombies walking around with women dressed as Barbie Dolls. There were super heroes kissing super villains in dark corners of the club. And bodies covered with fake blood and real sweat, were grinding against each other in the middle of the dance floor. It was jam packed and crazy in there – something, the old Ollie would have definitely enjoyed.

"Scotch. Neat," Oliver requested from the bartender.

It had been a slow night in the Vigilante front. All too calm for his liking, really and he kept expecting things to turn on its head any moment now.

He figured, that it may be why he had been craving for a glass of scotch, from the moment he had taken off his green hoodie for the night.

Except, deep inside, he knew there was more to it than that. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he knew that it was not merely the lack of crime that had him so bothered. He knew there was another reason – in fact, a very blonde reason behind it. But, he kept dismissing and ignoring that reason, that smile, that kiss and that dream.

"Ollie!" Tommy emerged from the crowd, dragging Laurel along.

The long white costume, the two hair buns on either side of her head and the green light saber in her hand, left no doubt as to whom Laurel was pretending to be tonight - Princess Leia from Star Wars movies. She had never been a fan of the genre. Tommy and he were, but Laurel, as far as he could remember, had always thought those movies to be too over the top. So, it slightly surprised Oliver to see her as Princess Leia that night. Nonetheless, it was Tommy's green outfit and hat that managed to catch Oliver's attention the most.

"So, Robin Hood?" Oliver laughed at his childhood friend. Though he probably had no right to, given the green leather suit he donned every night.

"Green brings out my eyes. Or so I've been told." Tommy draped his hand over Laurel's shoulder, speaking in the most awful British accent Oliver had ever heard. "Anyway, I hear that girls are really into archers these days. Am I not, right my princess?"

Laurel shrugged uneasily and removed his hand off of her. Tommy may have acted as if Laurel's reaction didn't bother him, but Oliver could see the hurt in his friend's eyes.

"So, why aren't you in a costume, Ollie?" she yelled over the loud music.

"Oh, he is! Can't you see? He's a Brooding Billionaire." Tommy took his hat off and used it to brush away an imaginary piece of lint off of Oliver's leather jacket.

"Close! But, I was actually going for 'Returned Castaway and Billionaire Club Owner'," Oliver corrected, making both Laurel and Tommy laugh.

"And, if I may ask, where's your lovely angel?" Tommy was once again talking in his British accent or rather what he thought to be a British accent.

"Felicity will be here with Speedy in a little while. She is very excited about tonight." A smile erupted on Oliver's face, when he realized how easily his angel's name had rolled out of his tongue. And, it didn't escape his notice how uncomfortable Laurel was with the blonde topic being discussed. The primitive side of him, felt victorious over how Laurel's face had shrunk at the mention of his fake girlfriend.

"Good, she still owes me a dance," Tommy may have been talking to Oliver, but his gaze was set on Laurel's contorted face. He looked as if he had something to say to her that he couldn't quite say in the presence of her ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah…. it will be good to see her again," Laurel averted Tommy's eyes, directing her attention to a pretend sound, she had heard somewhere behind her.

There was a very clear tension forming between his old friends. Which all three tried to ignore for the sake of not spoiling the night. However, despite their best efforts, the conversation and smiles began to feel more forced and awkward.

Fortunately, one of Laurel's lawyer friends came over, asking Tommy and Laurel to join her friends on the dance floor. Laurel, who had looked the most ill at ease with the conversation, was quick to accept her friend's offer.

"See you guys around then!" Oliver yelled as Tommy walked away with Laurel.

After grabbing the drink the bartender had placed on the counter, Oliver turned his focus back on to his old friends.

He watched as Tommy grasp Laurel by her hips and began to sway them both to a song that he had never heard before. Laurel so naturally draped her arms over her partner's neck and smiled. Oliver's ego told him, that she was simply trying to make him jealous. But, even so, he could see that Tommy and Laurel looked good together. Even if they weren't dating – at least not to his knowledge, they seemed happy together. As a matter of fact, Laurel had never looked that happy with him. Even on those rare occasions, when their relationship was not going through any sort of turbulences, Laurel had never looked as happy as she did with Tommy.

He knew he should probably feel jealous seeing his 'soulmate' dancing with someone other than him, but he wasn't in anyway.

Although, in the beginning, seeing them together and seeing them being so comfortable around each other, used to provoke a different kind of jealousy within him.

For one, their blossoming friendship wasn't something Oliver had expected to see when he had returned to Starling. Tommy was supposed to be his best friend and Laurel was supposed to be his on again off again girlfriend. They were not supposed to be 'Laurel and Tommy'.

He had felt betrayed by their newly formed bond. He had envied the connection that they had formed in his absence. They had their own stories to talk about and Oliver had felt an outcast – a third wheel of sort in their company at times.

Though he knew his time away from home had changed him, it seemed he had selfishly expected everyone else to remain the same people they were five years ago - his best friend, his ex-girlfriend, his baby sister. Because, when he was dreaming of coming back home that was what he had imagined coming back to. Not this alternate universe, where Laurel and Tommy were, 'Laurel and Tommy'. Not this life, where his mother was married to Walter Steele and his baby sister was a teenager dating an idiot called Roy Harper!

He had had this picture of home in his mind, but reality had been far from it. And he had envied both his friends for so easily fitting into that reality, when his reality was so dark and miserable. Perhaps he still envied them for that. Perhaps there was still a little bit of selfish Ollie left in him that wanted everyone and everything to revolve around him.

He took a sip from his scotch and tried to remember what that picture of Laurel had truly meant to him on that island. A 'purpose', he soon concluded. He had needed a goal to focus on and she had been it. It wasn't that he didn't care about Laurel, he did. He always had. He probably always would. Still, he wasn't sure if that was the reason why he had held on to that picture.

He wasn't sure, if he had ever truly been in love with Laurel Lance or if he had just loved the idea of her. She represented the idea of a perfect life. She was the woman so many believed as the ideal match for the 23 year old Ollie, heir to a multibillion dollar empire. However, neither was he that brat anymore nor did he want that life anymore. Then again, had he ever really wanted that life? Or had he just been taught to want that life by the world around him?

He may not still understand what love meant, but he doubted he would have gone off with Sara Lance on the gambit, if he had ever truly loved Laurel. He doubted he would have cheated on her so many times if he had ever loved her as much as he used to think he did.

Could he have hurt her so much if he had been in love with her?

He pondered what his answer would be, if someone were to ask him for a word that described what Laurel meant to him now, in present day. 'Guilt' that was the first and the only word that popped into his mind.

"Hey!"

He turned to the small voice that came from behind him.

"Felicity?" There she was again, in her angel dress and slippers - wearing a matching mask over her eyes and standing beneath the flashing green laser lights of the club. Her hair was braided loosely on the side and light bounced off of the gold tracker around her neck adding to her magical aura.

He gulped, noticing the quiver full of arrows hanging alongside her fake wings and the bow she was clutching in her right hand. It wasn't the first time he had seen her carrying a bow. Yet, every time he saw her with what he considered to be his weapon, his symbol, it did something funny to his insides. He downed his scotch. He was just glad he was sitting down when he saw her. Between the dress, the mask, the fake wings and the fake smog in the club, she most definitely looked like an angel tonight. He knew then, at that moment, that he could no longer deny that she was the reason behind his sudden thirst for scotch.

He had known, she would show up in her full angel costume tonight and the idea had just had him feeling jittery the whole night. Ever since he had had that dream about her, he had been nervous over the thought of seeing her in her in her angel form again.

He thought it would make him believe in her story somehow and he seemed to have thought right. He just couldn't, not believe anymore. Not when she looked like that. Not when she was looking at him like that. Not when he had come to rely on her to be his moral compass of sorts. Not when last night, he had sought her opinion on his plan to capture Angelo Fernandez.

_"So, you agree with this plan?" He recalled asking her in spite of the strange look Diggle had given him._

_Felicity had been making weird noises at his previous plans, which included lot more 'arrow-ing', as she usually called it. However, she had been pretty much silent with this latest idea._

_"Hmm," she had smiled up at him from the chair in front of the computer station. "As long as you're only going to put fear of God in him and not an arrow." He heard a mouse click as she turned her eyes back to the colorful game she had put on pause._

Felicity had become addicted to an online game. All thanks to Thea, of course. So, whenever she was at the foundry she would be on the computer, playing that annoying game.

Oliver had a love-hate relationship with this new obsession of hers. While he hated that her attention was almost always on the computer, he loved the faces she made whenever she came across a particularly difficult level. However, according to Thea, Felicity had soon become a master of the game, surpassing everyone's high scores.

"Hi," Felicity waved her freehand in front of his face, bringing him back from his thoughts. "Are you alright?" She sat on the stool next to him.

"Where's Thea?" he asked, gesturing the bartender for a refill. He needed another drink if he was going to sit alongside the woman who he now wholeheartedly believed to be an angel. He didn't even want to think about what all this could even mean.

Had he finally gone cuckoo? Was Laurel really his soulmate? Was Felicity really going to leave after her three months were up? No, he didn't want to know the answers to those questions.

"She's with Roy," Felicity pointed at the small cluster of people at the far right corner of the club.

It took Oliver a while to spot his sister. She was blue head to tail – yes, she apparently had a tail and she was barely wearing anything other than body paint. Roy. on the other hand was standing beside his girlfriend, in a simple red hoodie, glaring at whoever dared to stare at her for too long.

Oliver turned around, looking for Diggle. He found him guarding the passageway that led to their secret lair.

He signaled his friend to keep a closer eye on his under-aged sister.

With a nod, Diggle began to make his way over to Thea.

Oliver wouldn't have minded doing the job himself, but he didn't think Thea would appreciate having her brother hovering behind her and her boyfriend. Neither would she love having a bodyguard spying on her, but a bodyguard was always better than a disapproving older brother.

"Oh, Laurel's here. Do you want to hold hands? Or should I lean a little bit closer to you?" Felicity asked, slinging her bow over her shoulder.

"No! Let's just sit here and do none of those things!" he snapped at her without meaning to. He didn't want to hold her hand just because Laurel was there.

"Alright." She seemed crushed. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought she really had wanted to lean a little bit closer and hold his hand. "Let's not do anything then," she pursed her lips disappointedly.

One little glance at those luscious lips and flashes of their kiss, two nights ago began to play in his mind. He looked elsewhere just to get his mind off of that kiss by the pool - to forget how wonderful it had felt to wake up with her in his arms the next morning.

He was thankful that the bartender had handed him his second glass of scotch, just when his thoughts were about to stray somewhere they should never go.

"Did it hurt? When you fell from heaven?" Oliver heard a man utter, one of the same cheesy pickup lines he used to use back in the day.

His jaws clenched when he saw the twenty something guy, wearing some kind of a wizard costume, flirting with Felicity.

"It did!" Felicity agreed rather enthusiastically, leading the wizard to believe she was flirting back.

"So, do you wanna dance? I sense something magical is about to happen between the two of us," the wizard waved the wand in his hand in a circle, over Felicity's head.

"Dance? I… I'm…" she looked over at Oliver as if she wanted him to tell her not to go.

"I'm sorry. Was I… Am I interrupting something?" For a man wearing a silly wizard robe and a hat, he seemed very perceptive.

Oliver tightened his grip on the glass and just glared at the man. He wanted to see if Felicity would stay back on her own will. But, more than anything else, he wanted to prove to himself that he was more than okay with her dancing with another man.

Felicity stared at him for couple of more heartbeats, with her brows knitted together. "No, you're not interrupting anything!" Sighing, she stood up.

Without even realizing, he had reached out and snatched her small hand.

Her eyes were on him instantly. "Oliver?" She was waiting for him to tell her what he wanted from her.

Except, he didn't know how to word what he wanted. He didn't know if he had any right to want anything at all. So, he just let her hand fall.

She took another exasperated breath and turned to the wizard, "Let's go dance!" She caught a part of the wizard's long robe and guided him towards the dance floor.

Oliver finished his second glass of scotch with one long swallow and stared at the blonde's retreating back.

The wizard may have felt the two eyes peering at them from the bar, because for some reason he was being very careful with her. Their dance wasn't intimate in any form of the word. They just moved around to the music and smiled. Still, Oliver found himself ordering a third, fourth and a fifth drink while he watched his angel dance.

"You know, there are plenty of fish in the sea."

His head snapped around to the sultry voice of a young woman. She was clad in black leather. Or was it dark red? It was too difficult to say under the club lights.

He noticed the bow and quiver hanging on her back. Archery sure was becoming quite the rage it seemed and the thought brought a little cocky smile to his lips.

"It's on me, Mr. Queen." The woman was handing him a shot of something green.

His eyes raked over the stranger one more time. She indeed was a beautiful woman. Her long red hair fell loose over her shoulders and her green eyes stood out against her pale skin. Yet, there was something very off about her. He couldn't pinpoint as to what, but he just felt it in his gut.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name?" He took the glass somewhat warily.

"I'm Cupid, stupid," she gave him a seductive smile.

The heart-shaped ends of the arrows, sticking out from her quiver, made more sense to him now.

"What are the odds?" he muttered under breath, sneering at the irony of not just meeting a supposed Cupid's angel, but now also someone playing Cupid in a costume.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, what's in this?" He held the glass little bit higher and examined it.

"Would you believe it if I say it's a love potion?" She ran a finger up and down his arm.

He flashed his good ol' Ollie smile at her and peeked at the angel, dancing what he guessed to be the - 'Macarena'?

A genuine smile graced his lips as he watched her do the popular 90's dance with great enthusiasm.

"So, do you want to ditch this place and go somewhere more private?"

He glanced back at the red head standing beside him. She was a stark contrast to the blonde he had been staring at for the last whatever minutes.

He caught a glimpse of the same darkness he ever so often saw in himself, in the eyes of the red head. Maybe this was what he needed - a shot of something green and a red head. This could be the dose of reality he needed. This could be what he needed to remind himself of what kind of a man he really was – a killer, not worthy of ever stepping into the light – a man, undeserving of any real love. He tipped his head backwards and finally took the shot. It tasted like vodka and something he didn't really know.

A night with the woman in leather, should be very easy. No real repercussions, hopefully. No feelings, most definitely.

It would be just sex without any strings attached.

And he truly had intended on sleeping with her when he had poured that green drink down his throat. But, another look at Felicity - still twirling about in the middle of the club and Oliver had changed his mind.

"I… I… I'm sorry I can't." He couldn't bear to even imagine how disappointed Felicity would be in him for sleeping with a girl he had just met in a bar – a girl who wasn't his soul mate.

'Don't betray her!' a voice in his head warned. Though, he had an inkling that the 'her', the voice was referring to, wasn't the girl believed to be his soulmate.

"Are you alright?" The red head cupped his face and forced him to look at her straight in the eyes.

His head began to feel lighter all of a sudden. The music slowly faded away into nothing. His surroundings blurred as the woman's face began to distort and change. "Felicity?" It wasn't the redhead standing in front of him anymore, but it was the petite blonde.

She stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on his lips. "So, you still don't want to ditch this place and go somewhere more private?"

"I…I…" It couldn't be Felicity. Her eyes were not the same. Her voice was not the same. Yet, it was still her.

"Let's go, love," she whispered into his ear and he found himself unable to resist her.

He didn't understand what was happening. He just followed her lead.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on a bed shirtless, with his hands and legs bound to the bed.

There was a woman straddling him, but he was too out of it to recognize who. "Fel- Felicity?" he called out.

"Ollie..." The woman's husky voice snapped him out of his trance. He quickly realized that it wasn't Felicity. She never had and never would call him, 'Ollie'.

He shook his head and blinked a few times. He regained his vision enough to realize the woman sitting on top of him was none other than the woman he had met at Verdant.

"What the hell is going on?" He looked about the room he was in. The walls were painted in a blood red. On to his right,he found candles lit up in front of what looked like a collage of some sorts – made with newspaper articles and photographs of Oliver Queen and the Hood.

"Welcome to my humble abode," the woman greeted as she reached behind her back and pulled out one of her arrows.

"Who are you?" he ground out.

"I'm your soulmate."

Oliver scoffed. He really was beginning to despise that word now. He began to pull on the ropes, hoping to break out of them somehow. But, he was still weak - still reeling from the after effects of whatever the drug he was given.

"Aww, don't exhaust yourself, my love. Keep your energy. You're going to need it." She unzipped her leather jacket half way, exposing her deep red bra underneath.

He grumbled at her attempts to seduce him. His eyes strayed to the door as he tried to come up with an escape plan.

"If you're worried about your bodyguard bursting in through that door and interrupting us, don't be. I made sure he won't. I gave him a dose of the same drug I gave you. No one's going to disturb us tonight, Ollie... or should I call you the Hood."

"What?"

"You seem surprised. It wasn't that hard to figure out. I just put two and two together." She winked. "I mean, Oliver Queen shows up after five years and there's a Vigilante in town killing bad guys. And that green paint isn't enough to fool me, Ollie."

"What do want from me?"

"You…" She leaned over. Her fiery red hair curtained them as she licked his lips apart and kissed him. Her darkness may have been alluring, but the kiss soon made him understand, this wasn't what he neither wanted nor needed.

"I've been in love with you for a long time. Can't you remember me, Ollie? We went to the same high school. You saved me from those bullies. And you used to always smile with me. Can't you remember? I was the captain of the archery club, and the science club." She smiled to herself waving her head. "Silly me, how can you recognize me? I had braces those days."

Carrie Cutter! He recalled a freckle faced girl with braces, walking along the hallways of Starling High talking to herself. Other than that, he didn't remember anything much about her.

"You don't know how sad I was when I heard you were dead. I couldn't eat or sleep for days. And my parents sent me to a therapist. She called me insane and tried to have me committed. But, I know I'm not crazy. I know I'm just in love. And now that you're back and we can finally be together..."

"Untie me so that I can touch you and love you like you've always wanted," he decided to play along.

"Not, yet... Maybe later. First, I have to put my mark on you, so that the whole world knows you belong to me." She ran the tip of the arrow upon his skin, along the jagged edges of his scars and over the outlines of his tattoos. "Now, where shall I put it? How about I carve a heart shaped mark right above your heart?"

"Let him go!" The door flung open with a loud thud and the red head froze.

"Felicity?" She stood in front of the opened door with an arrow pointed at his captor.

He probably had never felt so angry, proud, turned on and worried over someone at the same time, as he did at that moment.

But, how the hell did she even know where to find him?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the update. Sorry I always take ever to update.
> 
> Thanks to the wonderful KarenfrmMD for going through this chapter for me.

 

**Chapter 14**

 

Tapping into an inner strength she didn't even know she had, Felicity kicked the shabby apartment door open.  Her intuition had told her that this was where she would find Oliver and she had been right.  She found him, tied to a bed and straddled by the same woman he had left the club with.

 

Felicity had known the redhead was trouble the moment she had seen her approach Oliver at the bar.  Her hips may have been doing the Macarena at the time, but her focus had been on Oliver and the redhead.  The instant Oliver had started to follow the redhead out of the club, Felicity had abandoned her dancing partner and had gone off looking for Diggle.

 

Since the six foot something bodyguard and friend seemed to have oddly left the building, she had asked somewhat of an unlikely ally for help.  Together, they were able to find Oliver's car, parked outside of a rundown apartment building in Glades.

 

When she had burst in through the now broken door, she hadn't quite planned what she was to do if she found them inside.  But, when she saw Oliver being held captive, bound to a bed, she hadn't needed to think twice to draw her archaic weapon at the redhead.

 

"Let him go!" Felicity had never shot an arrow with the intention of hurting anyone.  Yet, she knew if bad came to worse, she could and would do it, for Oliver – probably only for him.

 

However, as to exactly why she was willing to hurt someone to save Oliver Queen, evaded her.  Was it simply because she hadn't yet completed her mission?  Was it because she knew the good Oliver had been doing wearing that green hood of his?  Was it because she knew he would do the same for her?  Or was it because of something else, something deeper - because of something she shouldn't even be feeling?  It may not have been the time to or the place to think about why, but the questions just kept popping up in her head.

 

"Felicity?" Oliver stared, surprised and perhaps somewhat fascinated by her entrance.

 

"Well, aren't you a cute little thing?" the redhead laughed, throwing her head back.  Her cold, ruthless and high pitch laughter sent a chill downFelicity's spine.

 

"Felicity, isn't it?  I can see why Ollie has chosen you as his flavor of the month.  I can see the appeal."  She drew something on Oliver's chest with the heart shaped end of her arrow.  "But, I'm sorry to tell you, sweetheart, whatever you think you have with him, it's no match for what we have.  We're destined for each other."  She leaned forward and placed a brutal kiss upon Oliver's protesting mouth.

 

Felicity had the perfect shot right then.  It was the perfect opportunity to shoot the woman.  But, still, her fingers hesitated to release the arrow.  "You're not his soulmate!"  How dare this strange woman kiss Oliver as if he belonged to her?

 

Before tonight, Felicity had never seen Oliver kiss anyone other than herself.  And tonight, she had seen the redhead kiss Oliver twice – once at the bar and now.  Both times, Felicity had found herself breathing harshly through her nostrils as some kind of a fire burned inside of her.

 

She blamed it all on the shot of vodka she had taken earlier in the night.  After confessing that she was feeling nervous about showing up at the club, Thea had practically forced the vodka down her throat.  "I don't understand why you're so nervous.  But, whatever the reason is… trust me, the booze always helps," the young brunette had promised before downing a shot herself.

 

The alcohol did give Felicity courage, but only up until she saw Oliver, sitting at the bar alone.

 

He had been acting very strangely the whole day.  He had been more resigned, quieter than usual around her.  She had no idea why, but he had even refused to hold her hand at the club tonight.  Maybe he didn't feel the need to continue with their act anymore, since they had already gone on their last date and their breakup was in the horizon.  Either way, his behavior had her feeling nervous.

 

"Felicity!  Just get out of here!" Oliver ripped his lips away, ending the kiss and leaving the redhead straddling him looking quite furious.

 

"Am I supposed to believe that you are Ollie's soulmate, then?" The leather clad woman finally slithered off of Oliver - her jacket half unzipped and her lipstick slightly smeared from the earlier kiss.

 

Felicity felt both gutted and angry at the realization that this woman's half covered breasts had brushed against Oliver's bare chest.  "No!  I'm not his soulmate!"  A rush of sadness washed over Felicity as she spewed out her reply.  Her hands began to tremble and her eyes momentarily drifted to Oliver.  Felicity was not Oliver Queen's soulmate.  His soulmate was someone else – a beautiful someone else, who he was supposedly in love with and had been in love with for years.  Suddenly, the truth Felicity had always known, tasted so bitter in her mouth.  It felt so completely wrong and unfair.

 

"Felicity," he called her name softly and pleadingly.  "Please go.  You don't have to do this."

 

"I can't!  I won't!  I won't leave without you!"  She clasped the bow firmly and kept the arrow aimed at the redhead.  She was determined to save his life at any cost.  Even at the cost of her human soul.  She wondered whether Oliver felt the same way, when he had aimed his arrows at the goons, who tried to take advantage of her in Glades?  Did he feel parts of his soul die too, every time he pointed an arrow at another soul?

 

"Do you really think you can hurt me, sweetheart?  You don't look like you can even hurt a fly.  I mean, if you could, you would have shot me already."  In one swift move, the other woman had reached for her own bow lying near the edge of the bed.  "They don't call me Cupid for nothing," she claimed, training her weapon at Felicity.

 

"Cupid?" Felicity snorted, finding the woman's claims to be utterly ridiculous.  "You're not Cupid.  I've met him.  He brings soulmates together.  He doesn't tie people up and try to hurt them."  Or kiss them by force.

 

"Really?  You've met him?  And people call me crazy," the female Cupid, rolled her eyes.

 

"Just… Just let him go or I'll-" Felicity paused.  She was ready to do anything for him, but threats wasn't something that came naturally to her.  That wasn't who she was.

 

If there was another way to save him, if there was another choice, she would have been more than happy to take it.  But, the woman standing between Oliver and her, seemed relentless.  She wouldn't give Oliver up easily.  Felicity could just read it in the woman's dark green eyes.  The want, the desire and the desperation Felicity saw in them felt strangely familiar, yet so different from what she had caught in the mirror often.

 

"Or, you'll what?  You'll kill me?"  The other woman came forward.  The candlelight from the shrine like arrangement behind her, created a frightening silhouette of her, on the floor.  "I'll give you one last chance to leave, little angel.  Because, I'm nice.  So, leave now or-"

 

"No!  I'm not going to leave without Oliver!"  Felicity moved back to create more space between her opponent and herself.  Her eyes went to Oliver, who was desperately trying to break out of his restraints.  She then closed her eyes briefly, steeling herself to do the unthinkable.

 

"No!  Felicity!  Just step away!  Go!  I'm not worth it!"  Oliver's words hurt Felicity in her fragile human soul.  It pained her physically.  How could Oliver, the man, who risked his life every night to honor his father's dying wish – the man, who rid the city of corruption as he cut names off from the list of evil doers – the man, who had saved her life more than once, ever believe his life was not worthy of being saved?  He was not as tainted or unfixable or inhuman as he thought he was.

 

She had seen his light - many times, in fact.  She had seen his light, when she asked him to save that little boy from his kidnappers few weeks ago.  And when he came jogging down the foundry stairs, after rescuing the kid, his light had shined even brighter – despite the bleeding wound in his arm.  She had seen his light, when he talked about his sister or his best friend.  His eyes sparkled with that same innocence, Oliver believed he had lost.

 

She had seen his light, in those rare moments at the foundry, when they just sat and talked about random things.  Well, it was Diggle and she who did most of the talking, but Oliver would sometimes join in on the fun.  And, when he did, when he smiled along with them, she was sure she had seen nothing more charming.

 

However, at times, Felicity felt that his light shined the brightest when he smiled at her babbles or the few times she had caught him quietly staring at her.  Maybe she was imagining things.  Because, why would Oliver Queen's face light up while staring at her?  After all, according to him, she was 'just a friend'.  Maybe not even that in reality.

 

"So, you've made your choice then?" The other woman's voice ripped Felicity out of her thoughts and her eyes snapped open.  Felicity saw the redhead's fingers slowly come loose from her bow.  Time slowed.  At the whoosh sound of her opponent's arrow leaving its bow, Felicity's fingers came off from her own arrow – purely on instinct.

 

Still, the moment the arrow went flying to the other side of the room, Felicity just knew it was going to miss her target, yet again.

 

Her archery skills certainly had improved under Oliver's guidance.  Nevertheless, even with his rigorous training, she had been couple of inches off target most of the time.  And, as Oliver had reminded her constantly while they trained, in the arrow-ing business, couple of inches was a lot.  So, she wasn't shocked when the arrow went pass the redhead, leaving her unscathed.

 

The wayward arrow had instead hit one of the candles behind Cupid, setting fire to the collage of articles and photographs on the wall.

 

Then at that exact moment, just when the redhead's arrow was about to pierce through Felicity's heart, someone tackled her from behind.

 

"Felicity!" Oliver cried.

 

With a grunt, Felicity fell to the carpeted floor along with the man, who had just saved her life.  "Felicity, you're ok?"

 

Felicity turned her head a little and saw Roy Harper, her ally.  "I think I am…" Cupid's arrow may have missed her heart, but it had scraped her left arm along the way.  It didn't look as bad as some of the horrible cuts and bruises she had seen Oliver walking around with, but it still hurt.

 

"No!  No!"  The female Cupid, on the other hand, was manically trying to stop the fire from spreading and destroying her collage.  Yet, her frantic attempts only made things worse and the fire quickly spread to the flimsy curtains draped over the windows.  Smoke slowly filled the small apartment as the photographs and articles of Oliver and the hood burned and turned into dust.

 

"Go, help Oliver."  Felicity started to feel a bit woozy as she watched little streams of blood run down her arm and fall onto her uniform in droplets.

 

"Are you sure you're ok?" Roy's gaze shifted between her face and the growing blood patch on her white dress.

 

"Help him," Felicity urged the young man, offering him a reassuring smile.

 

Roy's red hood fell over his head as he finally got to his feet.  "You're sure you weren't doing something kinky in here?" he began to undo one of the ropes that tied Oliver's hand to the bed post.

 

"Just get me out of this!" Oliver barked in return, provoking Roy to mutter something under his breath.

 

"No!  I'm not going to let you take him away from me!" the redhead pounced like a panther, swinging her bow at Roy.

 

"Roy!  Watch out!"  At Oliver's warning, Roy managed to duck her blow in time.

 

Felicity drew another arrow from her quiver and picked her bow up to help Roy out.  Midst of being tackled by Roy, the bow string had apparently broken apart from one end, rendering it useless to her.

 

"Felicity, help me take these ropes off!" Oliver jerked on the ropes which his limbs were tied to, shaking the rickety bed in the process.

 

Felicity dropped the broken weapon and ran to Oliver, "Are you ok?"  She untangled the rope on his right hand first.

 

"You're hurt," he turned her wounded arm slowly, worry etched all over his face.

 

Oliver was safe and that was all that mattered to her at that moment.  "It's… it's nothing."  When he looked into her eyes the way he did, the pain really did feel as if it was nothing.

 

Her heart raced as it always did when his eyes bore into hers. It was at these moments that she felt the most human, most alive

.

"You shouldn't have come here," his hand came up to cup her cheek as she wiped the traces of the redhead's kiss from his lips.

 

"Yeah, you two love birds just take your time," Roy's snark, tore Oliver and Felicity both out of their own world.

 

Blushing deeply at Roy's comment, Felicity rushed to untie the rope on Oliver's other hand.

 

"Full moon always brings out the crazy in everyone," Roy jumped backwards to avoid another vicious blow from the redhead.

 

"There's no full moon tonight," the redhead pointed out to her opponent as she tried to kick him on the stomach.

 

Roy caught her leg before she could hit him and pushed her back. "Oh, well, then that must mean you're just plain crazy."

 

She hit the wall behind her and fell to the floor unconscious.

 

By the time Oliver had gotten out of his restraints, Roy was checking the redhead's pulse.  "I've seen people do this on TV all the time, but why can't I feel anything?  Am I not doing it right?  Or … Oh, God, I've killed her!" Color drained from Roy's face as he put his hand over the woman's nose to find out if she was still breathing.

 

"Is… is she alright?"  Felicity stepped towards the unconscious redhead.  In spite of the fire blazing behind her, Felicity felt a strange chill take over the room.  Had she for the first time, witnessed a person die?  As she stared at Roy, she realized she was, in a way, had been lucky to not have the woman die by her hands.  She realized she probably wouldn't have been able to overcome the guilt if she had indeed hurt the woman.  She would never have been able to sleep again, knowing that she had been selfish enough to kill another human being.

 

But, would she have been able to stand back and watch the redhead hurt Oliver?  Would she go through something like this all over again for him?

 

Yes.  She would.  For him.  The answer astounded her.

 

"Oh, God what have I done?" Roy paced, holding his head in his hands.

 

Oliver took the unconscious woman's hand and checked her pulse himself.  "She's still alive.  Just knocked out," he announced.

 

Felicity heaved out a heavy sigh.

 

"Sorry I if I scared you, Felicity.  It was just a false alarm," Roy muttered.

 

Oliver turned to her in concern and she gave him a little smile to let him know that she was alright now.

 

They tied the woman to her own bed and with the help of few blankets they found in the closet and couple of buckets of water from the bathroom, they managed to subdue the fire within few minutes.

 

"So, are we going to call the cops or the fire department or someone?  I mean, it's the Glades.  No one's probably going to call the cops if we don't.  And this side of the city is almost like ghost town.  No one ever really comes down here."  Roy looked about the apartment.  Ash floating around the room was the only remnant of the collage that once hung on the wall.  Nothing remained of the curtains except for the steel bars they once dangled down from.  One wall had turned black in places while the other walls still remained the deep red it was before.

 

Oliver completely ignored young Harper's question and proceeded to gather his clothes from the floor.  After putting his pants back on, he took his phone out from its pocket and dialed a number.  "Waller, I need you to do something… I'll let you know the place," he hung up quickly, offering neither Roy nor Felicity an explanation.

 

"We should get going," Oliver's muscles flexed when he stretched his arms and tugged his t-shirt over his head.  Soulmate or not, Felicity just couldn't resist staring at him.  Oliver Queen was a beautiful man.  The scars and tattoos on his body didn't disturb or scare her.  They told his story - what he had gone through.  And, whatever he had gone through, had made him the man he was today.  A loving brother, a protector, a man with good heart.  Her heart instantly swelled with pride, at the man he was.  Felicity felt a strong pull towards him.  She felt a connection she didn't feel towards any other deity or human.

 

She remembered feeling something very similar, when she had seen him for the first time.  But, just as she couldn't understand what the feeling had been back then, she couldn't understand what it was that she felt towards Oliver Jonas Queen now.  She only knew the pull had become stronger and more frequent over time.

 

"Ok, not calling the cops then?  That's… that's good, because I don't want to explain about the car I just stole."  Roy checked the ropes tied to the redhead's hands and pulled them tighter one last time.

 

"You stole a car?" the disapproval in Oliver's voice was clear and somewhat frightening.

 

"Hey, she was worried about you.  She told me she saw you leave with some kind of a crazy woman and she didn't want to scare Thea or get her involved in anything.  So, since I didn't have a car and I couldn't exactly tell Thea what's going on and ask for her car, I had to steal … I mean borrow one from Verdant parking lot," Roy's posture deflated under Oliver's threatening gaze and his hands slipped into his worn out jeans.

 

"And you," Oliver stomped towards Felicity fast and fuming.  "You thought you shouldn't get Thea involved, but thought it was ok to get him involved in this?  You thought I'd be ok with you getting yourself involved in this?"

 

"I didn't know what else to do.  Dig sort of disappeared and I -," She backed up until her back hit one of the red walls.

 

"Dude, she just saved your life!" Roy promptly reminded Oliver.  "I don't think even Mr. Diggle would have been able to stop her from coming here tonight.  She practically jumped off the car when we saw your car out here.  She's the one who came up with the whole plan … to split up and look for you, I didn't want to… but-"

 

"That… that was the only way, Oliver. I thought if we didn't get to you in time, she could… she might…." Felicity stuttered, unable to voice her fears.

 

He grabbed her by her forearms roughly – almost possessively.  "I would have been fine!" his voice was low and gruff.  But, his eyes were soft.  They said something his words failed to convey and Felicity felt the pull grow even stronger.

 

"But-" She winced at the sudden stroke of pain that ran up her injured arm.

 

"I'm sorry."  Oliver released her from his grip.  "You might need stitches.  We… we should go… to Verdant, before someone finds us here."

 

"You want to go back to the club?  I thought you said she might need stitches?"  Roy stared at them both.  He may not have had the time to see the photographs and articles that connected Oliver to the hood before they were destroyed, but he seemed sharp enough to see that Oliver wasn't being completely forthcoming.

 

"I want you to go back to the club.  And I want you to take care of the car you stole and make sure Thea's safe…" Oliver put his leather coat on her, effectively hiding the blood stain on her dress and giving her the warmth she had unknowingly been craving.  "And I'll take care of Felicity."  He laced his fingers with hers and walked her out of the apartment.

 

Her heart stilled for a second.  The way he held her hand, those simple words, they shouldn't mean so much to her, but they did.  She looked up at him.  His face gave nothing away.  His features were as resigned as ever.

 

"So, does that mean you learned to sew back in that island you were in?" Roy probed, but Oliver refused to answer him.  "Ok, don't answer the man, who just saved the life of the woman you love," the younger man said as he walked passed Oliver towards the lift.

 

Oliver remained silent.  He made no objections nor did he agree with Roy.  However, Felicity wanted to clear things up for Roy and perhaps for herself as well.  "It's just pretend, Roy," she heard Oliver make the strangest noise at her remark.

 

When she turned her eyes to him, his face was turned away and she had no idea what expression he was sporting or if he was sporting any expression at all.

 

Roy stopped in front of the lift and turned around to wink at her.  "If you say so, Felicity."  He pushed the iron grill gate open for them to get in.

 

Oliver led her inside, and draped an arm around her shoulders – securing her, shielding her.  She felt that magical pull once again, but this time she gave into the gravity.  She leaned into him, tucked herself beneath his arm and closed her eyes.

 

"Yup, it's all just pretend," Felicity heard Roy say.

 

But, she was too tired to retort or to move away from Oliver.  And she didn't want to.  She didn't want the elevator ride to end.  She didn't want to ever leave his warmth.  She didn't want to break up with him on her fake birthday or ever.

 

Her eyes flew open at the thought.

 

Why didn't she want to break up with him?  That was the plan.  That had always been the plan.  Could it mean that she was- did she - was she starting to fall in love with Oliver Jonas Queen?

 

No!  That couldn't be!  Because what she felt could not be compared to what she felt for mint chip ice cream – not multiplied by hundred, thousand, million or trillion.  It was more.  It was different.  So she couldn't be falling in love with him, could she?

 

Unless, Oliver's calculations had been off.  Unless, his whole analogy had been off.

 

Then again, he did say he didn't know she was talking about love when he gave her that analogy.  If so, was she really starting to fall in love with him?  Was that why she had always felt that weird pain in her chest, whenever his soulmate's name was brought up?  The pull she felt, the agitation she felt at the sight of the redhead kissing Oliver, were they some sort of signs?  Was that I why she was willing to save him at the cost of the redhead's life?

 

No!  She just cared about him – in a different way than she cared about anyone else.  But, that didn't mean she was starting to fall in love with him, it just meant that she was - she was already in love with him?

 

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.  She was already in love with Oliver Queen.  How was this even possible?  Few weeks ago she didn't even know how it felt like to be in love.  Now she was already in love with Oliver Queen?

 

She felt as if Cupid was playing some kind of a cruel joke on her.  Maybe this was his way of punishing her for not completing her tasks properly.

 

Be that as it may, no matter how much she loved Oliver, that wouldn't change the fact that his happily ever after was with Laurel Lance.  No matter how much she loved him, she would have to go when her three months were over.  No matter how much she loved him, that wouldn't make Oliver fall in love with her.  He already had a soulmate.  A gorgeous soulmate.  A clever lawyer that belonged in his world, unlike her.  Her heart ached like never before at the thoughts that ran through her head.  Was that why she had run away when he kissed her in the pool that night - because she had been afraid that it would ultimately come to this?  Because she had known she would be the one getting hurt in the end?

 

She shook her head.  None of it really mattered.  What happened to her heart didn't really matter.  She would break up with Oliver just like they had planned and make sure he got the happily ever after he deserved.

 

Hopefully, once she goes back to being an angel, she wouldn't feel this way again - the pain would be gone.  Hopefully, she was mistaken and she wasn't indeed in love.  Maybe the pain she felt in her heart was because of the wound in her arm and nothing else.  Maybe it was the loss of blood that was causing her to even believe that she was in love with a man she could never have. What did she really know about love anyway?

 

But, in any case, she had to keep her distance from him from now on.

 

"Starting tomorrow," she corrected herself as she closed her eyes again.  She then rested her head against him and clung to his t-shirt.  Until the elevator came to a stop, he was hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and let me know what you thought.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 15. Sorry for the delay and the mistakes as i didn't beta it. I'm not really confident about this chapter though.

**Chapter 15**

Roy frowned at the traffic light, which had been flashing red for what felt like for hours. “You know, I was thinking… Your sister has never really let me drive her car. She’s kind of possessive when it comes to her cars. And, her Louis Vuittons, of course. Not that I've ever wanted to borrow her Luis Vuittons. I mean, I guess, what I’m trying to say is that… this is probably the first time I’m driving such an expensive car without actually stealing it.” He ran his hands along the steering wheel, admiring its design.

No one had been happier than Roy to ditch the stolen vehicle and to drive back to Verdant in Oliver’s car. He had practically looked like a kid in a candy store, when Oliver had tossed the car keys at him and asked him to drive.

“Why hasn't it turned green yet?” Roy glared at the traffic light again.

Oliver simply replied with a sigh and then turned his attention to Felicity. For the last few minutes she had been evading him, silently staring out from the window on her side.

He wondered what could be going through her mind right now.

He wondered what could have been going through her mind when she had shot that arrow at Carrie Cutter.

The first time he had ever shot an arrow at another person, he had been on the island. He remembered losing more than a few nights of sleep over it, until eventually, killing just became something he was extremely good at.

Hence, he knew that if a jerk like Ollie had a hard time dealing with what he had done, that Felicity too had to be struggling with what she had almost done. So, he had gotten into the backseat with her - just to be closer to her and offer any comfort if and when she needed it. He had thought he would have a little talk with her there- tell her how grateful he was for what she had done and tell her that she should never again even think about putting her life in harms way for him.

However, she hadn't given him a chance to have that talk. From the moment they had stepped out of that elevator at Glades, she had maintained a fair distance from him. She had crawled into the other end of the backseat immediately - leaving more than a little space between the two of them.

He couldn’t understand, what could have happened, between the time they had gotten into that elevator and the time they had gotten out of it, to make her act this way.

Last time she had acted this strange had been, when he had taken her home after the peanut butter incident. Though, later that night, she had returned to her usual self, Oliver feared the coldness she was showing towards him tonight, could be something more permanent.

“Hey,” Oliver had uttered without even realizing.

She looked at him finally.

“Felicity, are you alright?”

 “I’m OK. It’s not hurting that much anymore,” She smiled timidly, gesturing at her wounded arm.

“Good,” He returned the smile and reached for her hand.

Her smile quickly vanished from her face and she shifted further away from him – hiding her hands from his sight. She stared at him confusedly for a brief second and then turned her gaze towards the window yet again.

His hand dropped to the empty space between them and he thought he felt something crack in his chest at her reaction.

Did she despise him now, because she had very nearly killed someone because of him? Did his face remind her of the sin she had almost committed? Was that what this was all about? No! It couldn't be! She didn’t look as if she hated him. He didn’t see any hatred in those eyes. She merely looked awkward and unsure of herself around him. But, why?

She seemed as if she was trying to hide something from him. But, what?

Racking his brain for answers, he looked out the window on his side.  The traffic light switched from red to amber and then to green.

“Finally!” Roy yelled as he sped off towards Verdant. 

* * *

 

Lack of traffic and Roy’s enthusiastic driving helped them reach the club within just a few minutes.

“Thanks, Roy! You’re my hero.” Once they were out of the car, Felicity planted a kiss on Roy Harper’s cheek. 

For once, Oliver couldn’t completely ignore the pang of jealousy that hit him. He didn’t exactly know why, but cheesy as her words sounded, he so badly wished she had said them to him instead.

“Are you sure she’s going to be OK?” Roy glanced at him over Felicity’s head. He looked a little worried, as if he thought that her fake boyfriend would punch him for letting her kiss his cheek.

“I’ll be fine. You go ahead and find Thea. She might be looking for us,” Felicity had assured, before Oliver could answer.

He knew why Felicity was so eager to send Roy on his way. She just didn’t want Roy following them both to the foundry out of concern for her and subsequently find out, what really lied beneath the hottest club in Starling. It amazed him, how even at a time like this – when she was hurt and tired that she still thought of protecting his secret first.

“I guess, I should go then,” Roy looked at them both a little warily as he zipped his hoodie up to the very top. “And in case you’re worried that I would say anything to Thea… Don’t be. Even if I don’t enjoy lying to your sister, I really don’t think she would appreciate me stealing a car and going to rescue her brother with his girlfriend – I mean pretend girlfriend – without telling her.”

“Roy, thank you,” Oliver managed to say just before Roy turned around. If it weren’t for young Harper he knew Felicity probably would not have come out of the whole situation with just an injured arm.

“You’re welcome. And… So… Goodnight to both of you, then?” He bid farewell with a hesitant salute like gesture and ran off towards the main entrance of the club.

“Goodnight, Roy!”  Felicity waved at Roy’s retreating figure.

Oliver glanced at her. Her lips were little chapped, her eyes were a dim blue. She seemed cold, exhausted and perhaps somewhat dehydrated. 

Maybe he really should have taken her to a hospital. Maybe it had been a stupid idea to bring her to the foundry.

The reason he had opted against going to a hospital wasn't because he had been afraid that the doctors would raise questions about how she had gotten injured. He had opted against it, because he remembered her waking up shaken and lost in that hospital bed some nights ago and he didn't want to put her through that again, when he or Dig could take care of her injury by themselves.

But, now he was starting to second guess his decision.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Felicity said - her eyes still on Roy, “I’m OK Oliver. I don’t need to go to a hospital.” She added with finality, rubbing her hands to keep herself warm.

"Here." He stepped closer to her and tugged her a even more closer to him by the lapels of the jacket she wore.

Her eyes trailed his hands as he pulled the zipper up for her. "Thanks, for the jacket. It covers the blood stain really well," she moved away from him, looking the other way.

"That's not why I put it on you." He muttered to himself, eyeing the two paths that led to the basement of the club. The shortest way to the Hood's lair was from the secret entrance inside the club. But, he didn't like the idea of dragging an injured Felicity through the drunk and wild crowd at Verdant.

“Hop on,” He didn’t know how the idea had come to him, but he had bent his knees a little and offered her a piggyback ride. “Felicity, just hop on, I’ll carry you to the foundry,” he told her.

 “Oliver, we… I… I don’t think it’s a good idea. I can walk. It’s not that far away.” She tucked her lower lip between her teeth and stared at him.

“Felicity!” That was all he had said and a second later, he felt her climb onto his back. “Hold on to me tight,” He put his arms under her legs and started to walk towards the foundry.

“If I had known riding you could be this fun, I would have ridden you every night.” She muttered sleepily, resting her chin upon his shoulder.

Any other time, he would have been able to snub off the accidental innuendo. But, not now. Not when he could feel her chest pressed against his back and the ends of her blonde locks tickling the back of his neck. Not when her legs were wrapped around him from behind. Not when her hands were draped around his neck. He needed to snap his eyes shut for a second to drive off the images of Felicity riding him in a very non-platonic way out of his head.  

“Do you think there’s any chocolate mint chip ice cream at the foundry?” Her breath tickled his neck as she talked and he unconsciously gripped her legs hard. 

“Hmm…” Felicity let out a small involuntary whimper at that and he wanted to squeeze her leg again, to see if she would make that same noise. But, he knew it was a bad idea, just like it had been a bad idea to offer her a piggyback ride - which he was just now beginning to discover.

“I think I might need a pint or maybe two to process everything that happened tonight.”

At least, the piggyback ride was making her talk with him, he figured. 

“Hope, John is alright.” She tilted her head and rested one of her cheeks on his shoulder.

“Dig sent me a text a while ago. He’s waiting for us at the foundry.” Oliver punched in the codes to open the door to his secret lair. It came ajar once the password was confirmed by the system. 

Just as Oliver crossed the threshold with Felicity, he saw Diggle walking up to them,  “You won’t believe what happened to me, man. I woke up next to a zombie.” He stopped in his tracks when he saw Felicity.

“You won’t believe what happened to me, Dig!” She slid down from Oliver's back and took the leather jacket off.  

Diggle's eyes went wide when he spotted the big blood stain on her dress. “You’re hurt? What the hell happened, Oliver? I thought you said you both were fine when I messaged you!” he asked as he rushed to fetch the first aid kit.

“Carrie Cutter, happened.” Oliver tried to help Felicity sit on top of the med table, but seeing her fidget at his touch he backed away quickly.

 Why was she acting so hot and cold with him?

“Don’t tell me… She’s another one of your many ex-girlfriends?” Diggle walked over to them, going through the supplies inside the med kit.

“Something like that.” Oliver slurred, his eyes trained on Felicity. 

“And I’m guessing this Carrie Cutter had something to do with me waking up next to a girl dressed like a zombie?” Diggle checked on Felicity’s cut.

“Ah!” She hissed when he turned her arm a little to get a better look at it.

“Well, Carrie was a little - not right, in her head.” Oliver gestured at his own head and moved his finger around in a circle to imply that the red head was crazy.

The former soldier threw Oliver a classic  _‘why am I not surprised'_ glare and handed Felicity a glass of water and a pill, “Take this. It’s an Oxycodone. It will make you feel better. But I have to warn you. It will make you a little… drowsy.”

“Anything to get rid of this pain,” Felicity swallowed the pill and chugged the huge glass of water.

 “This might hurt a little,” Diggle warned before he began to stitch her up.

 “Dig, are we out of chocolate mint chip?” Felicity winced in pain when the needle first pierced her skin. Oliver found himself mirroring her expressions. He flinched every time she flinched. He hissed every time she did.

“I think I saw you finish the last of the mint chip yesterday night.”

Felicity, grumbled at Diggle’s reply.

“Good as new,“ After wrapping a bandage around her arm Diggle helped her get down from the table. “But, it might leave a little scar.”

 It pained Oliver to know that she probably would have a scar – a small one, but a scar nonetheless, because of him. He wished he could rewind the night and undo every misstep he had taken. He wished he had listened to his gut and had never taken that drink from Carrie Cutter. If he had known that this was how the night was going to end, he wouldn't have ever let Felicity dance with that wizard guy and he would have danced with her instead- even if she had wanted to do the Macarena with him.

“My very own scar. The one on my forehead is gone now. Otherwise, this would have been my second one,” Felicity swayed back and forth. “Whoa, is the room is spinning?”

“It’s probably the pill I gave you.” Diggle smiled.

“Guess I’ll be sleeping on this couch tonight,” she fumbled her way to the couch and lied there on her stomach.

“Take her to the mansion, Oliver.” Diggle had not been a huge fan of Felicity constantly sleeping in the Queen mansion - especially in Oliver’s room. So, when Oliver heard his friend suggest that he take her there, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at him.

“She seemed to have had a long day. I think she would be more comfortable in the mansion… with you than sleeping on that couch.” Diggle said as he put his coat on, “I need to call someone. Whatever Carrie Cutter gave me, it made me realize something - made me see someone I've been trying to get over for a long time now. Lyla, my ex-wife.”

“Lyla? Your friend from ARGUS?”

“It’s a long story, Oliver… Anyway, by the way you’re looking at our little angel friend over there, I have feeling that the drug might have shown you something or someone special to you too.”

"What?" Oliver only remembered seeing Felicity in his drug induced dreams. He remembered mistaking the redhead for his blonde angel. But, there couldn’t possibly be a deeper reason behind it. Could it? People saw weird things while under the influence. “Dig, it’s not what you thin-“

Diggle scoffed, “The reason I didn’t like the idea of you getting too attached to her was because I was worried about you … and Felicity too,” He glanced back at the blonde, who was flipping and turning on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep.

“You have this crusade man and she is… First of all, as much as I care about her safety,  as much as I want to believe she’s just some innocent girl, we both have to admit that we don’t really know who she is.”

Oliver opened his mouth and he almost told Dig that he was now convinced that she really was an angel, but he thought better of it. 

 “If… And that’s a big if… if what she says about herself is true, then she has a crazy mission of her own too. So, I just had a feeling that it was going to end badly somehow and I was just looking out for both of you…but now,” Diggle looked at Felicity and at Oliver again.

“You don’t think that it will end badly now?” Oliver didn’t understand why he was so eager to know how it may end, when he very well knew he couldn't ever start anything with her.

But, did he want to start something with her?

 He shook those thoughts away as soon as they entered his mind. What happened tonight, the stitches on Felicity’s arm, was enough proof that what he wanted didn’t matter. Whoever dared to even be in his orbit was in danger. He shouldn’t even entertain the idea of him and Felicity. He didn’t deserve someone like her and someone like her deserved a man who can keep her happy. He wasn’t that man. He could never be that man. His life was too dark and too dangerous for an angel. In any case, Felicity wanted to see him with Laurel – to get her wings back and go home.

“After I saw what I saw, while I was under that drug, I realized I shouldn’t run away from things, just because I’m afraid of getting hurt in the end. And you shouldn’t either, man.” Diggle confessed.

“But… Dig, I-“ Oliver was more afraid of hurting someone than getting hurt. He had already hurt too many people as Ollie and as whatever he had become now.

“Just take her to the mansion, Oliver.” Diggle, pat him on his arm and walked away.

Oliver turned around to Felicity, who was still struggling to fall asleep, “Felicity?” 

She looked up at him instantly, “Oliver, take me home?”

The way Felicity worded her question made his heart swell up with something indescribable. The Queen mansion hadn’t felt like a home to Oliver for a while. He had strangely preferred the dark, grimy foundry better to the lavish mansion he grew up in. But now, suddenly, he was beginning to think of it as a home again, because of Felicity.

“Ok, let’s go home then.” He put his jacket back on her. He didn’t offer her piggyback ride this time though. Instead, he took the sleepy and mumbling Felicity into his arms.

She muttered something about how strong he was before falling asleep cuddled into his chest.

He carefully carried her to his car and laid her down on the backseat. “Oliver,” he heard her say in her sleep.

“I’m right here,” he couldn’t resist running his fingers along her blonde tresses. His heart pounded thinking back to the moment she shot that arrow. She had refused to leave him, even when Carrie had given her the opportunity. Sweet Felicity, who couldn’t bear to see a paper cut on Thea’s finger had almost killed a person, because of him. 

He took another long look at the blonde before getting into the driver's seat.

Through out the ride home, he kept checking on her from the rear view mirror. He heard her mumble his name a few times - as though she was reliving what happened at Glades, hours ago. It hurt him. It shattered him to see her like so and to know that it was all because of him.

* * *

 

It was little over midnight when he turned the car to the drive way that lead to the Queen mansion. “Are we home?” Felicity woke up with a start, when he pulled up the car in front of his house.  

“Hmm…” he gently helped her out of the car.

Her eyes kept closing despite her tries to keep them opened. “My head is still spinning,” She grabbed a hold of his arm to steady herself.

 “Let me carry you,” he tried to scoop her up again, but she swatted his hands away.

 “I can walk now!” she easily and naturally tucked herself under his left arm, banding her arms around his waist.

“If you say so, мой ангел,” [my angel] He whispered into her hair and guided her towards the front door.

 The large doors opened with a low creak and he slowly walked her inside. The lights were turned off, but there was enough light to help him find his way towards the staircase.

“I’m sorry. I missed my target again. You are a great teacher and I keep disappointing you.” 

Something stirred inside of him at her confession and he stopped walking, just so he could look at her. 

She had her head resting on his chest and eyes closed.

“Felicity, I’ve never been happier to see you miss your target.” If she had killed the other woman, Oliver knew Felicity wouldn’t have been able to live with it. The guilt would have destroyed her. She would have even hated him for being the cause of her misery, but she would have hated herself even more for killing the woman. She would have lost the smile he loved so much - the smile he would do anything for.

Looking back, he realized the real reason he had agreed to go along with Felicity’s crazy 'soulmate' mission had been to see her happy - to see that smile. He knew now that Laurel had merely been an excuse - she had barely been 1% of the reason as to why he had agreed to help Felicity with her mission all those weeks ago.

Sure, he had been intrigued when Felicity had told him that Laurel was his soulmate. And, he wouldn't lie, somewhere in the corner of his mind he had wanted to know if there was a chance for Laurel and him to be something again. But, now he understood that want hadn't stemmed from love. It had stemmed from guilt, regrets and his fear to completely let go of the past.

 However, as he stared at the blond standing in front of him, he no longer felt that the need to hold on to anything from that life - the ignorant and insolent life he had lived before the island.

He grabbed Felicity's hand and squeezed it lightly. “But, promise me you won’t do something like that ever again.”

 “I can’t…” She suddenly pulled away and forced her sleep laden eyes open. “I can’t make that promise, Oliver. As scary as the whole thing was, I know I’d do it again... for you.” 

“No… Not for me. Never for me. Promise me?” As proud as he was of her bravery, touched as he was to have her come for his rescue, he wouldn’t have her risking her life and breaking her morals to save him again.

“I can’t…” She shook her head.

“Felicity!”

“Ok… May be I will, but only on one condition.” She pursed her lips and poked at his chest with her index finger.

“Does this condition have anything to do with me buying you chocolate mint chip for the rest of my life?”  He pictured himself buying ice cream for her, when he was old and wrinkled and that image brought a small smile to his lips.

“As wonderful as that sounds... No, that's not the condition. If you promise me you won’t risk your life ever to save mine, I will promise you the same.”  

No! He couldn’t ever make that promise. Never! He would do anything in his power to keep her alive, safe, well and happy – always. Because, he was- because he was in love with her. The feeling was so real and tangible, he couldn't escape it anymore.He couldn’t deny it any longer. He wouldn’t any more. 

But, still, he knew it couldn’t change a thing between them. Because, no matter how much he loved her, she could never be his. She didn’t belong in this corrupted world - in his world. It would break her, destroy her one day.  

Thus, he decided it would be for the best if he kept these feelings to himself. He decided it would be for the best if they went a head with their breakup and part ways in a few days, just as they had previously planned.

"Felicity... I... I can't promise you that," he mumbled, when all he wanted to do was kiss her and tell her that he had fallen in love with her.

“I thought so,” she said smugly, ”And, You’re wrong, ya know, You’re worth it, Oliver. So very worth it. Your life is important to your family, to Thea, to this city, to your friends... to Dig and…”

His heart skipped a beat at that. 

He had always been the wayward son to his parents, playboy to the tabloids, a cheater to Laurel, a bad role model for his sister and now nothing but a murderer, according to the law. So, when he heard her say those words, with her blue eyes staring into his own, for that instance, he was able to forget and discount all the labels the rest of the world had stamped on him. She may have been talking under the influence, but he wanted to believe that she meant every word.

“And, Oliver,” When she put her hand over his heart, he found himself leaning closer to her. “You’re very very important to m-”

“Oliver?” They both pulled apart when someone put the lights on.

“Mom?” Moira Queen was standing at the top of the stairs with her arms folded in front of her.

“Oh! Mrs. Queen! Or is it Mrs. Steel? Or Mrs Queen-Steel. You know, I’ve never met Mr. Steel. Thea has said really wonderful things about him. When is he coming back from Austria? Or is it Australia? If it’s Australia, I hope he’s not going to bring back any kangaroos. I don't like kangaroos. I like koalas, though.” As Felicity went on one of her usual tangent, rocking left to right, Oliver placed a hand on the small of her back to make sure she didn’t fall.

“Is she drunk?” His mother glared at the babbling blonde.

“Why do I always run into you when I’m high on drugs?” Felicity threw her arms up in defeat.

“She’s high?” Moira stepped closer to both of them, her high heels clicking against the stairs.

“She’s… someone drugged her at the club,” Oliver lied.

“Oh God! Someone drugged me at the club? When did that happen?” Felicity put a hand over her mouth in disbelief.

“Let’s go,” Smiling at Felicity’s overly dramatic reaction, he tucked her into his side again.

“Wait! Oliver, let me help you,” Moira caught Felicity’s right arm.

"Am I dreaming?" Felicity stared at his mother staggered - eyes wide and mouth slightly parted.

“Mom, I can-“

“I know you can, Oliver, but I want to help…” 

It was both peculiar and kind of nice to see his mother willing to help Felicity, so he found himself unable to say no to her. "OK," he nodded.

“Oh I love your bed. Especially when you’re in it with me,” Felicity hugged his pillow, the moment they helped her onto his bed.

“I guess that's my cue to leave.” 

“Goodnight, mom,” he said as he followed his mother to the door. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a hint of a smile on her face.

“And, Oliver, I want you to know that your friend Felicity is right. You’re worth it and you’re important. And, she’s… I think I can understand why Thea loves her so much and why you are in love with her.” Moira talked in a tone barely above a whisper, making sure the blonde lying on the bed behind him didn't hear their conversation.

“Mom, It’s... it's complicated." 

“It looks fairly simple from where I'm standing. I’m sorry I was so quick to judge her and your relationship with her. But, you have to understand Oliver, I'm your mother and I was just trying to protect you. I thought that she was just another gold digger. But, I can see that she's - different... Different from any other girl you've ever brought home. You seem happy with her Oliver." 

“Oliver...” Felicity griped, from the bed.

“I think your girlfriend needs you. I’ll talk to you both in the morning. Goodnight.” She flashed him a smile and left closing the door behind her.

He stood there stunned for a few seconds. Did his mother just approve of Felicity? 

“I think your mother doesn’t hate me anymore,” Felicity giggled.

“I think so too.”  He walked over to her still a little taken aback by his mother’s sudden change in attitude. As her son he wanted to believe her, but as the vigilante he was somewhat apprehensive to trust her.

“So, that means one mission down and only two to go,”  Felicity sat up and threw the jacket off. The red stain on her dress, reminded him, how his mother's approval, didn't matter. It reminded him, how his love for her didn't matter.

"You should probably change your clothes," he suggested, tearing his eyes away from the stain.

"I should," she stepped off the bed and took her necklace and dress off with out any reservations.

"Felicity," he gulped, as his eyes raked over her laced underwear. Her hair and skin glowed under the soft lighting in his room. Her hips were begging to be grabbed by him. Her lips were beckoning him to kiss her. He could have easily ripped those lace away and taken her in his bed. He wanted to. But, that wasn't all he wanted. No, he wanted more than just a night with her. He wanted to have her every night for the rest of his life. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted to do this when she was sober.

No! This could never happen! They could never happen! Not tonight. Not ever. Not sober nor high. His jaws tightened as he fought back his urges. Now that he knew what he felt towards her, it was becoming more difficult to just stand there and not touch her - tell her how much he loved her. But, he knew have to keep his feelings reined, somehow. But, for how long? How long would he be able to keep his control around her? The break up was just few days away. Could he keep it together until then? 

"What?" She seemed too high to realize that she was standing half naked in front of him.

He found her favorite t-shirt and threw it to her, "Put that on!" 

"I need to go clean up first. And before you ask, I'll be fine in there. I promise I won't fall," she said as she dragged her weary self towards the bathroom.

"Don't lock the door," He wanted to be able to run to her, in case she needed any help. 

She gave him a thumbs up over her head before leaving to the bathroom.

He took his shirt off - his ears ever vigilant on everything going on inside the bathroom. He heard her hum some kind of a tune and he flopped into the bed, listening to the sound of her voice. It wasn't the first time he had heard her sing, but it may have been the first time he had truly allowed himself to listen to it. She had a beautiful voice - angelic in every sense of the word. Her voice had almost had him believing that him and her may not be as impossible or as unthinkable as he believed. 

"Oliver?" He heard the bathroom door click shut.

"Is everything alright?" he lifted his head from his pillow to look at her. 

"I think so," she didn't look at all alright as she crawled into her side of the bed.

"Felicity?" He turned to his side.

"I almost killed someone Oliver" she hugged herself as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

 "Sh... sh.." He wrapped his arms around her tightly, half wishing for the sun to not to rise - because when tomorrow came he knew he would have to let her go. "Everything will be alright," He cooed, half wishing for the sun to rise quickly, because, she deserved more than what he could ever offer her. Because she had always wanted to see him with Laurel Lance and no one else. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, sorry for taking almost two months to update. I had a really hot Olicity scene planned for this chapter but I didn't have the time to finish it. Because at the last moment I felt like I should change the pov. 
> 
> When I updated My Blond Dictionary I said I'll update today so I didn't want to postpone.
> 
> So, there are no Olicity scenes in this chapter. But, something important happens. Felicity discovers something.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts.

Chapter 16

"Where's Felicity? I brought her favorite." Diggle entered the foundry, with what looked like a pint of chocolate mint chip ice cream.

"My mother took Thea and Felicity both out to dinner. She said something about Queen Women and bonding over dessert. I don't think Felicity will be coming here tonight." Oliver punched the dummy in front of him as hard as he could. Ever since that moment, six nights ago, when he had realized he had fallen in love with Felicity, the poor dummy had been taking the brunt of his frustrations.

It wasn't easy to be in love with a woman, he knew he could never have - a woman who thought he belonged with another woman – a beautiful woman who lived in his home and was inclined to accidentally blurt out sexual innuendoes in the most inappropriate of times. However, what frustrated him the most was the way she kept her distance from him during the day and the way she always ended up sleeping in his bed, curled into him every damn night. She tested his control, his patience, but still, he felt as if he was falling more and more in love with her as each day passed.

He jabbed the dummy on its face again.

His sister hadn't been any help either. She kept reminding him of their impending breakup. " _So… ready for the breakup tomorrow, big brother? You haven't forgotten about it, have you?_ " She had been asking those same questions or some variation of those questions, for the past week. As much as he believed the breakup was necessary, he didn't want to be reminded of it – he didn't want to even think about it.

"Queen Women, ha?" Diggle's amused snort brought Oliver out of his thoughts. "So, even though you didn't take my advice, your mother has decided to induct our little blonde to your family already then?" He placed the ice cream in the freezer and sat in front of the computer station. "Can't say I'm surprised though, I saw your mother with Felicity yesterday and she looked like she's already planning on knitting little socks for her future grandchildren."

"First of all I don't think my mother can knit." Oliver kicked the dummy on the head, making it spin and fall to the floor. "Second of all, I think my mother just meant Thea and herself. I don't think she included Felicity into the equation." That was a complete lie. Oliver very well knew that little glance and that little elbow nudge his mother had given him as she had said those words, had only meant one thing – she was expecting him to make Felicity a Queen very soon.

It had been a little bizarre to see his mother act this way - so, happy and so unlike herself. In fact her behavior had been so different from what Oliver had known her to be, he kept waiting for a big plot twist. He kept waiting for his mother to turn around and make some kind of a big reveal – expose Felicity as a gold digger, a fraud. Yet, it had been six days since the Carrie Cutter incident and it didn't look as if there was going to be any surprising twists in the tale.

He shouldn't be surprised by it really. Felicity just had that effect on people - especially him.

He felt a proud smile creep up on him at the thought and he quickly wiped it away with his hand before Diggle got a chance to notice it. "And anyway, even if my mother did want that, it's not going to happen. It's all an act. I barely even know her." But, whatever he knew of her was more than enough to make him fall in love with her. It was enough to make him want to spend a life time getting to know her.

"Yet, you do love her? Yet, you do want it to be real?"

Oliver walked towards the computer station glaring at his friend. Was he a mind reader or was it that obvious? "I can't be with anyone right now, Dig." That was the only reply Oliver could offer him. He thought if he admitted to his feelings out loud, it would open up a gate that could never be closed again.

"You're-" Diggle was just about to give his two cents on the matter, when an angry beep on the computer demanded their attention. The facial recognition system they had been running had identified another one of their targets. 'Jonathon Petrelli', a drug lord responsible for many deaths in starling, had been spotted entering a motel in Glades with a couple of members of the Italian mob.

"Time to hood-up." He turned to Diggle.

"Since Mr. Petrelli seems to have few very interesting friends protecting him, I think you might need some back up… just in case …"

Before Oliver could protest Diggle was already walking towards the door, grabbing a com link and tucking his gun inside his jacket.

Oliver was about to go and change into his hood, when a familiar icon on the monitor caught his eye. "FS-0033", he read the name given to the icon and he immediately realized what it was. FS-0033, was the file that contained information about Felicity Megan Smoak. It had been a while since he had last opened that file, but he could still remember what the file entailed to the last letter. Yet, tonight for some reason, he felt the need to read that file again -to see that picture again.

After debating over it for a mere second he double clicked on the icon and soon after, Felicity Smoak's image filled the screen. The similarity between Angel Felicity and the bespectacled Felicity always stunned him. She seemed like his Felicity in every sense, but still she wasn't her.

His mind soon got flooded with the same what if questions that the photograph always managed stir up.

If his Felicity turned out to be Felicity Smoak, would she then stop pushing him towards Laurel so much? Would they be able to be together? Would she return his feelings?

With a defeated sigh, he closed the window. Angel Felicity or Felicity Smoak - that probably wouldn't change anything. He didn't deserve either of these women.

He hid the file in a folder deep in the system to make sure he won't be prompted to open it again.

* * *

"We need to drop Miss Felicity off at Verdant, before we go to QC." Moira informed her driver and then turned to speak to Felicity. "I'm so sorry dear. I wanted to take you both out to dinner, but there's an emergency at our subsidiary company in Russia and-"

"It's alright Mrs. Queen." Felicity smiled with the two Queen women, sitting in front of her in the limo. They both looked equally gutted about cancelling their dinner plans and for the past ten minutes they had done nothing but apologize to her.

"I told you dear, you can call me Moira."

Moira Queen had certainly surprised her. Although Felicity had wanted Moira to like her, she hadn't expected her to be this nice towards her. Especially since, her own daughter had told Felicity that 'Nice' wasn't something, Moira Queen was usually known for.

"And I'm sorry too Felicity. I completely forgot that I promised my friend Jessie from school, I'd stay over at her place tonight to help her with an assignment." Thea pouted beside her. "Are you sure, you don't want to hang out with us? I know it could be a bit boring but…"

"Oh Thea, I'm sure Felicity would much rather spend her time with Oliver at Verdant."

Felicity chuckled nervously at the assumption made by Moira Queen. Oh how wrong she was. Felicity would much rather spend her time with Thea and her friend than with Oliver. She would have even preferred attending whatever meeting Moira Queen had at QC over spending her time with Oliver.

The last six days hadn't been easy on her. Although she kept trying to keep her distance from Oliver, she kept ending up in his bed at night.

After her run in with Carrie Cutter, she hadn't been able to fall asleep without him. She felt protected by him and protective towards him. She needed to hear him breath in order to sleep peacefully.

It wouldn't have been so bad, if they just slept in their respective sides, but oh no, she wasn't that lucky. She always woke up cuddled to his side, wrapped in his arms. But, thankfully, when she would slip out from his bed every morning, he would always act as if he was still asleep - saving her from the embarrassment of explaining what she was doing there.

"Do you want me to call Oliver and let him know you're coming over?" Moira was already fishing for her phone in her handbag.

"No Mrs. Quee- Moira It's alright."

"You know Felicity, you've never told me your last name?" Moira asked putting her hand bag aside.

"My last name?" She looked to Thea for help.

"Felicity Eh… hmm… Gilbert." Thea managed to blurt out.

"Ehm… yeah Felicity Gilbert." Felicity confirmed, trying not to look at Moira Queen in the eye.

"Felicity, the reason I wanted to take you to dinner was because I wanted to say thank you for being in my son's life."

But, that confession by Moira Queen forced Felicity to look at her.

"I know you might be feeling a little awkward about this whole thing. I mean, I can see that you were not expecting for me to accept you this easily. I'm well aware of my reputation as Heartless Ice Queen. It's not something I like being, but when you're running a multi-billion dollar empire, you have to be, or you could very easily get trampled on - especially, if you're a woman. The first thing my father taught me about business was that it's easier to deal with enemies than friends that could back stab you any moment." Moira took a long deep breath and took Felicity's hands into hers. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't trust people easily, Felicity, but after seeing you with Oliver, I feel like I can trust you. I've realized that I have been wrong about you. And…I'm glad you're in my son's life Felicity. He needs someone like you."

Felicity felt touched and she wanted to say something, but she didn't know what she should say. She wasn't really in Oliver's life in the way Moira Queen thought she was.

"I think I may have also been judging Oliver based on the man…the boy he was five years ago. The son that left on the Gambit five years ago wasn't the son that returned. I know the scars in his body isn't the only scars he has. I tried to help him. But I couldn't. But, I think you can. You can help him, Felicity." Tears welled up in Moira Queen's eyes and she looked away for a second to hide them. "I know I can never get that son back, but I don't want him to be this … closed off person either. I want to see him happy. And I can see that you make him happy. And that makes me… us happy. I feel like... everything is going to be fine now..." She glanced at her daughter who was on the verge of crying. Their eyes told the hardships and misery they both had gone through the last five years.

"I think so too mom." Thea wrapped her arms around her mother.

For the first time, Felicity realized that it wouldn't be just her heart that would be breaking if she and Oliver were to go through with tomorrow's breakup. Moira Queen's hopes of seeing her son happy again were going to be shattered tomorrow. And, to someone like Moira, who rarely let anyone get close to her family, it probably would feel like an utter betrayal. Moira Queen was going to hate her. She would never trust her again. Especially, because of the way the whole breakout scenario was planned to play out.

It would be Felicity, who would be breaking Oliver Queen's heart. She would be the one to get caught making out with another man in the Verdant storage room on the night of her fake birthday. Her perfect boyfriend Oliver Queen would enter the storage room with Laurel Lance to fetch the birthday cake he had ordered for her surprise birthday party and he would see his girlfriend in the arms of another man.

Felicity was dreading the moment. She was dreading the thought of kissing another man. She didn't want to. She didn't want to break up with Oliver and watch Laurel Lance fall in love with him again. But, she had no choice. That was how it was supposed to be. That was how their destinies were written. Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance were soulmates.

It was when the neon sign at Verdant flashed on Felicity's face that she realized she had been lost in her own little world.

"Felicity dear are you alright? I hope I didn't put lot of pressure on you by saying all those things I said earlier. I'm just…. Just happy that Oliver has found someone that makes him smile."

"I'm alright Mrs Queen … I mean Moira. I should probably say thank you for welcoming me into your home."

Moira accepted Felicity's thank you with a smile. "I'll see you and Oliver later at home then."

After saying her goodbyes to the two Queen women, Felicity entered the foundry through the backdoor. She was glad Oliver now trusted her enough to give her the passwords to the foundry and to all his computers. She could now come and go to the foundry as she pleased and play games on the computer whenever she pleased.

"Hey guys, are you in here?" She slowly stepped inside and wasn't so surprised to learn that Oliver and Diggle weren't there. Usually, around this time of the night, either Oliver or both Oliver and Diggle, would always be chasing another name in Oliver's notebook.

She grabbed the worn out notebook Oliver had left on top of the computer desk and flopped into the big chair there. Flipping through its yellowy pages, she wondered who he could have gone after tonight and whether they were dangerous. She wanted to use the computer and find out what they were up to, but she didn't have the knowhow to do so.

She felt useless at times like these. She was useless to him. She couldn't even shoot an arrow right. No wonder Oliver was meant to be with Laurel and not her. Not only was Laurel Lance gorgeous, she was also an accomplished lawyer.

"Agh!" Felicity let her frustration out with a scream and tossed the notebook back on to the table.

She then scanned the foundry - the salmon ladder, the med table, the targets on the wall and the training dummy in the corner, which for some reason was lying on the floor, face down, at the moment.

She wondered whether Oliver would allow her to come to the foundry after their break up. Would he want her to stay away from the foundry, his bed, his home and his life once he and Laurel become a couple?

She shouldn't even be worrying over it. She wouldn't even be human in another month. Her chest felt heavy at the thought and she grumbled. "Stop wanting things you know that'll never be yours!" Hoping to forget her troubles, Felicity began to search for a game to play on the computer.

"Aha, there you are!" She pumped her fist up in the air, thinking she had finally found one. However, when she clicked on the small diamond shaped icon, series of computer codes flooded the screen.

She panicked. She clicked on something and then something else and somehow managed to close the strange program down. However, in the process of doing all that, she had opened a file by the name FS-0033. Her jaw dropped when she saw the image of the smiling blonde that stared back at her through the screen. "What in the world –" She looked exactly like Felicity. The only visible difference between them was the glasses perched on her nose. She even had a ponytail, just like the one Felicity was sporting.

It was her, but still it wasn't her.

In fact, her name was also Felicity – Felicity Megan Smoak to be exact.

"Felicity Megan Smoak." She tried the name out loud and it felt right to her for some reason. It had a much better ring to it that Felicity Gilbert, for sure.

She clicked a few options and found some more information about the girl. Felicity Megan Smoak, born on 1989, was apparently an MIT graduate. She was supposed to start working at Queen Consolidated five years ago but she had never shown up there.

Felicity rubbed her temple feeling a headache coming on.

There was a button on the side of the window called "File info" and she tentatively clicked on it. The small screen that popped up didn't have any information on the blonde as Felicity had hoped. However, it showed information about the file itself- the date the file was created and when it was last viewed, etc.

Her eyes narrowed on the date and time the file was last accessed. Someone had opened the file just a few minutes ago.

Her hand went to the heart shaped pendent dangling down from her neck. Did Oliver still think that she was pretending to be an angel and that she was actually this Felicity? Did he still think she was lying to him?

No, he trusted her. He cared for her. Maybe not the way she wanted him to, but he did. Or else, he wouldn't have held her like he did after Carrie Cutter had hurt her. Or else he wouldn't have given her access to his computers and his secret lair.

Then why had he opened this file tonight?

After taking a deep breath, she closed the pop up box and continued to stare at Felicity Smoak's picture. It was like looking into a mirror. Something was telling her the blonde on the picture was her, but she knew it couldn't be her. She couldn't ever remember trying on a pair of glasses and then smiling for a picture.

However, she supposed that things could have been easier, if she had been Felicity Megan Smoak.

She would be an MIT graduate then. She would know more about the human world and she probably would be able to speak more eloquently without babbling so much. She wouldn't even know that Oliver Queen's soulmate was Laurel Lance and she wouldn't have to leave Oliver in four more weeks.

And, maybe Oliver would like her more too.

But, would they have ever met, if she hadn't been an angel? Would they have crossed paths, if she had started working at Queen Consolidated as Felicity Megan Smoak was supposed to?


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 17, sorry for the long wait. I typed most of this on my phone so there will be more mistakes than usual. Mostly because I'm terrible at using the keyboard on my phone.
> 
> This chapter gives a huge clue about Felicity's real identity. And I'm sorry i stopped the chapter at a very bad place. I mean I feel like I'm kind of being evil. Lol. You will see what I mean when you get to the ending.
> 
> Hope you like it.

When Oliver returned to the foundry it was almost 1am. By then, Felicity had already eaten left over spaghetti for dinner, had four scoops of chocolate mint chip ice cream for dessert and had lost the nerve to talk to Oliver about Felicity Meghan Smoak.

Seeing Oliver walk down the foundry stairs looking defeated and bruised, had her more than convinced that tonight wasn't the night to talk about the blonde IT girl. He was in one of those moods and she didn't want to add to it by confronting him about that picture of Felicity Smoak.

In any case, what would bringing up the IT girl really accomplish? Oliver explaning to her how implausible her story was? A heated argument? Oliver storming out of the foundry afterwards and breaking her already hurting heart along the way?

 Yes, she felt a bit betrayed. Yes, she was curious. Yes, she was hurt. However, she didn't  want to spend their last moments as a couple - a "fake" couple, fighting about an IT girl. 

But, then again, would a heated argument have led to something else altogether? Did she want it to? 

Staring at the blank monitor screen in front of her, she nibbled on her finger nails. She had closed Felicity Smoak's file hours ago. Yet, she had found herself staring at the monitor every now and then as she considered and reconsidered pros and cons of confronting Oliver.

Anyway, it was not as if she couldn't try and see things from his perspective.

She maybe aware of his night life, but it was possible that he didn't want her involved with other aspects of his life. Apart from being a vigilante, a brother, a son and a friend, he was also an heir to  multi-billion dollar enterprise. As a Queen, he had so many people and secrets to protect. She understood that. 

So, it was only right that Oliver looked at her - a woman without a last name suspiciously - even if the said woman had tried to save his life, risking her own.

But, honestly, if not for what had happened at the end of that very night, in his bed,  she would have been more hurt by what she had found in his computer. Because, it was the way he had cooed soothing words into her ear that night that had given her the ability to take a step back and truly assess their relationship. It was the way he had held her, cared for her, which had helped her believe that he trusted her - not entirely, but somewhat, in some way. 

He was his mother's son after all.

Yet, despite Felicity's rationalizations, the file on the computer kept bugging her. The image of the other Felicity roused numerous questions and thoughts, which she was quickly begining to realize had very little to do with Oliver himself. 

It mostly had to do with envy. 

Other than a MIT degree, the other blonde had something she could never have. Unlike her, Felicity Smoak had no knowledge of who Oliver Queen's one true love was. Unlike her, the other Felicity was free to pursue a life and find happiness with someone else's soul mate.

So, how could she not be jealous of the IT girl?

  Still, as hurt, envious, and curious as she was about the bespectacled blonde, she had to admit that she was also nervous - no, terrified to get to know more about her - if indeed Oliver did know more about her. Why she was scared, she couldn't really decide. But, digging up more info about the mysterious blonde, she felt could complicate her short human life even more somehow.

"I thought you were going straight home after dinner?" Oliver asked, putting his bow and arrows away - tearing Felicity away from her thoughts.

"Dinner got cancelled and your mom dropped me off here." She turned the monitor off and rose from her chair. Despite her resolution to stay as far away as possible from him, her feet moved towards him - her hand reaching for the bruise, she saw on his jaw."Are you ok?" She stood on her tiptoes and carefully inspected the injury. 

 "Yeah..  but the man we were after, got away." He twitched a little when she ran her fingers lightly over the bruise. "Felicity, please don't -" He removed her hand from his face and stepped back. 

His message was clear. He didn't want her touching him. He didn't want her standing so close to him. He didn't want her to show him any care. But, what wasn't clear was why he wanted things to be this way.  It could  have been his way of retaliating to the way she had been acting around him lately.

Or was it because he truly believed she was Felicity Megan Smoak now and he wanted nothing to do with her? Or did he wish she was her? Or was he showing her, where she would stand in his life, after tomorrow's break up?

Either way she didn't like it one bit. 

"You had something to eat?" He asked nonchalantly, as though he didn't notice the frown on her face.

"Left over spaghetti and ice cream. You?" She walked pass him to get to the freezer. She wanted to find an ice pack for his jaw. Just because he didn't want her to care for him and just because he still probably thought she was pretending to be an angel, that didn't mean she would just stop caring. She couldn't, even if she were to try. It's not only because she was in love with him, it was also because she knew what sacrifces he had made and the risks that came along with wearing that green hood he put on every night.

"I had dinner before we went out." 

Lies! He was lying and she could tell. He must have skipped dinner tonight in favor of catching the bad guy.

She may not always know what he was trying to cover up with his lies, but she very recently discovered that she had the ability spot whenever he did lie. 

"Felicity  I.." She heard him sigh behind her, as if he knew, that she knew that he had lied to her. 

 Felicity let out a sigh of her own. She didnt want to talk about him lying to her about dinner. She was afraid they would start to bicker and she would babble out about the photograph - the topic she had already decided to avoid for the night. "Where's Dig? Is he alright?" she had asked instead.

"Hmm.. He went home. " 

"Oh?" After digging out an ice pack from the freezer, Felicity turned around to give it to Oliver. She almost yelped finding him standing very close to her - too close for someone, who just a second ago had pushed her hand away. 

"I sent him home," he said , eyes locked on hers and taking the ice pack from her hands  - his finger tips brushing against her palm and sending a powerful feeling through her body. If she were to explain the feeling in a plain and simple term, she would have called it a "Need". A crippling need to feel those fingers trace every inch of her skin, touch every part of her body and soul - a burning need  to feel his stubble against her neck - to feel his lips on her flushed skin. These feelings, she knew were not all new, but she wasn't sure if they had ever been this intense - this knee numbing.

"Are you alright?" He reached behind her and put the ice pack on top of the freezer- the action bringing him even more close to her. 

She knew he had no idea that she would be at the foundry waiting for him. However, at that moment, she wanted to believe Oliver had sent Dig home, in the hopes of finding her alone in the there. 

But to do what?

What exactly did she want him to do? Kiss her? Touch her? Or more?

She braced herself against the refrigerator behind her - afraid that she would give into the need - afraid that she herself would take his hand by force and place it somewhere, she was sure would not be so appropriate.  

She shouldn't be feeling this way! She should be angry at him for distrusting her even after she had almost killed someone for him. She should be lashing out at him and asking him what more did he want her to do to show him that she could be trusted.

But she didn't. She couldn't.

Something was wrong with her tonight. Was it the warm weather? The heatwave she heard people on TV talking about? Is that why she felt so warm and out of breath?

Or was it because she thought that after she would never get to to be this close to him again, after their breakup tomorrow? Was this her body's way of telling her to seize the opportunity and forget about destinies, other Felicitys and soul mates for just one night? 

"You look like you have something on your mind?" He stared at her worryingly, eye brows narrowed and flicking his index finger against his thumb.

"No... it's just...that  I.. I'm tired." She dropped her eyes to his shoes to hide from him. She had billion things running on her mind, none of which she was willing to disclose to Oliver - not yet.  Maybe she wouldn't ever. 

"We can go home as soon as I change back to Oliver Queen." He said, but his feet didn't move. The points of his dark green leather boots stayed facing her.

She looked up at him, wanting to find out why he was still there. And she was stunned to find his eyes bearing the same needs and wants as her.

No! This couldn't be real. She had to be hallucinating. Because, she knew better. Oliver Queen couldn't be looking at her like that. He would only look at Laurel Lance that way.

"Uh.. I..." She couldn't from any real words, but just fragments of them. Speak Felicity! She urged herself. "Ok." Was the only coherent thing that came out of her mouth. 

"Ok" He suddenly looked down at the almost nonexistent space between them. It seemed as if it was only then he had realized, where he had been standing - so close to her, invading her personal space. 

Whatever you do don't look at his lips, she told herself. But, her stupid eyes betrayed her and she couldn't help but wonder, whether it would be such a bad idea to kiss him, one last time - before their break up. One for the road as they say.

"I'm going to go and change." His mouth parted again to say something more, but he stopped himself and just walked away towards the bathroom.

"Ok." She hàd to put her hand over her heart to get it back under control.

When he was out of her sight, she collapsed onto the couch and turned to her stomach. 

This kind of ittle moments between them always made her want more - made her body crave for something more. This had been partly, if not mostly why she had decided to keep her distance from him. Although, she had more than struggled to stick to that resolution.

However, tonight, fortunalely or unfortunately, would most likely be her last night alone with him and she wouldn't have to struggle to control herself anymore. There would be no small touches, smiles, gazes and she most definitely wouldn't be able to sleep in his bedroom, after their breakup.

 A hollow, lonely feeling invaded her at the realization and it merely helped increase her urge to kiss him, in tenfold. 

"Ugh!" She banged her head on the old cushion repeatedly, hoping to drive those feelings away.

They did go away, a little - just a smidge, but only until Oliver reappeared in front of her. In fact, it seethed. It grew at the sight of him in his brown leather jacket, which she loved so much.

She figured, that maybe if she thought more about, how he distrusted her and if she thought about how he had been investigating on her all this while, she would be able be rid of the wanting - be able t,o fall out of love with him.

She tried and tried hard.

She thought about the file she found - the gold tracker hanging on her neck - all symbols of his reluctance to trust her wholly.

Yet, she failed horribly, terribly and epically.

Fearing she would blurt out her true feelings, if she were to talk, she only answered him in nods and hums when he asked her, if she was ready to go home. 

Sadly, few minutes into the car ride, her plan to stay quiet started to backfire on her. The silence somehow added to the tension rather than lessen it. She felt very hot and restless on their way to the mansion, in spite of the fact the A/C had been on. 

 Being in the car alone with him was giving her more than a few unladylike thoughts and she didn't know what else to do, but fan her flushed cheeks with her hand. She kept imagining him stopping the car on the side of a dark lonely road and ripping her dress open - kissing her - holding her flush against his chest - his very naked, tattooed chest. She kept imagining many different scenarios. Some of them included her ripping his shirt first, but her visions always stopped when his hand crawled up her leg, under the hem of her dress. Mainly due to the fact, she wasn't quite sure what came next. 

Her body and heart seemed to know, but her brain wasn't really sure. The movies she had seen had always cut to another scene around that point. And she had been too embarrassed to ask Thea, if this was the point at which the whole, _not really sleeping together, but sleeping together_ thing really happened. 

  She looked out the window and tried to concentrate on the blurry images of buildings and lights they passed. but she couldn't. Closer she got to the Queen mansion, more her need to be touched and held by him multiplied. She could almost see herself in his bed - naked - both of them naked. 

"Felicity?" She jumped in her seat, hearing Oliver's voice. "We're here." The roar of the car engine stopped and Oliver unfastened his seat belt. 

"Oh ok." She muttered as she got out of the car - her knees still feeling bit unsteady from those imaginary makeout sessions she had taken part in.

"Good night." She told him, stopping in front of the guest room Moira had arranged for her. 

 Moira Queen being the 'Nice' woman and mother she was now, had arranged the room right in front of Oliver's room for her. " _I know you probably might not use this room much, but I told Raisa to arrange the room in front to Oliver's for you. You never know when a girl need a bit of privacy and space for herself."_ Moira had informed her few days ago as she handed Felicity the keys to her new room.

Felicity for once wished Moira had not been so nice and had given her a room on the other side of the mansion - on a completely different wing . Maybe then she would have been able to stop herself from wandering into Oliver's room so often. 

"Goodnight." He unlocked his bedroom door.

"See you in the morning.I mean I know it's technically morning now... but I don't mean, I'll come to see you in your bed in a few minutes. Later I mean... i will see you later and not in your bed." Her gaze drifted to his bedroom door. It was so tempting to walk those few steps to his room. But she was sure If she were to go there tonight that something was going to happen -something that would alter the trajectory of both their lives and spoil her plan of getting Oliver together with his soul mate.

"Good night Felicity." He flashed his usual smirk,  but there was a whole lot of smugness to it tonight. He was clearly expecting her to show up in his room in a few minute,s irregardless of what she had just babbled. 

"Goodnight" she muttered  quickly and entered her room. She locked the door behind her the moment she was inside. She was hellbent on staying there at least till sunrise. She was hellbent on proving Oliver's smile wrong. She was hellbent on not sleeping with a man who didn't trust her the way she deserved to be trusted.

* * *

 

Yet, her resolute lasted only for a few minutes. She was in his room and in his bed exactly ten minutes after she had put her favorite t-shirt on.

Her bed was too cold and pillows were too lumpy, she had rationalized, while she had made her way into his bed and had slid under the covers.

Thankfully he had looked to be a sleep - on his stomach and shirtless as usual.  

Although the cold shower she had taken had helped reduce the heat that had been controling her moments ago, she felt it return the second she felt his warm presence next to her.

 "This is a terrble idea." Her brain warned her, but her body wanted other things. "He is never going to trust you like you want him to." Her brain reminded her, but her heart was willing to believe that he would someday.

Her eyes closed just as her head hit the pillow on herside. Sleeping on his bed, next to him felt right. It felt like home.

She didn't ignore her brain completely though. She kept a fair amount of space and a pillow between them before falling a sleep, listening to the even comforting sounds of him breathing.

" _Felicity Smoak?" Her head whipped around - not just to the sound of Oliver's voice but also surprised by the last name he called her by._

_"Oliver?" Her heart sank when she couldn't find him. She stood up from the rotating office chair, which  she had apparently been sitting on and looked around for him. He wasn't there. No one was there._

_She was standing in the middle of some kind of an office all alone. Its light blue walls, the windows, the scattered computer parts and the red pen in her hand they all felt familiar - hers, but she knew they couldn't be._

_She loooked down at herself. The first thing that caught her eyes were the panda flats she had on. Eventhough, she had no idea where she was or what she was doing there, she couldn't ignore how good they looked on her. "Cute" she muttered to herself wiggling her toes inside the strange but pretty pair of shoes that covered her feet._

_She momentarily froze, catching a glimpse of her refleion on the computer monitor on her desk. She was wearing glasses. Felicity Smoak's glasses!_ _She ran a finger along the bridge of her nose until it met the thin oval shaped frames perched on top her nose. She adjusted it, pushing it back. The action felt so natural, it made her shiver._

_Staring at that picture of Felicity Smoak for so long seemed to have caused her to believe she was her -dream that she was the blonde IT girl._

_But why did it all feel like a lost memory than a dream? Why did it feel like a time and a place so familiar - a moment that ought to have happened, but had never happened?_

The confusion jerked her awake. Sleeping on her side, she stared at the wall in front of her, trying to make sense of what she just saw.

The warm weight moving beside her brought her musings to a sudden halt. Oliver was sleeping with his front pressed agianst her back. She was too scared to look, but she could feel one of his hands on her left thigh. She could feel his breaths falling on her neck and something hard pressing on her back.

Her body burned with a desire that she couldnt explain and she found herself slowly moving against the hardness, pressing back eagerly even before she knew she was doing it. 

She knew she should stop, but she didn't want to. In fact, when she felt Oliver's lips grace the slope of her neck and then touch her shoulder, she realized she didn't want this to stop ever. She realized, she actually wanted more.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! On a scale of 1 to 10 how surprised were you guys to see this story updated so early? LOL no need to answer that.
> 
> I thought i would update sooner this time, because I was a little evil last time. 
> 
> So i finally came home from my vacation, only to find out 5 keys on my laptop arn't working. Serves me right for eating while I type. I think ants might have done something. Once they ate the speaker on the laptop.
> 
> Anyway, I have a tablet with me now, it's easier to type with than my phone. 
> 
> So there maybe a huge amount of errors and if there's anyone who would like to beta this let me know.
> 
> Thanks for all the love in the comments.
> 
> ****************************************************  
> WARNING RATING HAS CHANGED TO M.
> 
> Don't know if it's hot or not. Just hope it's not that bad.
> 
> ******************************************************

 The comforter was missing and Felicity had no idea what had happened to the pillow barrier she had made between them. However, there was a pair of lips - a familiar, soft pillow mountain like, pair of lips on her shoulder. There was also a hand on her thigh and another one playing with the ends of her hair. She knew those hands. They have held her before - carried her through the hallways of a hospital before. They have comforted her before.

But, what were those hands doing now? What was Oliver doing? Was he awake or was he planting soft kisses on her shoulder in his sleep? 

The most probobale explanation was that he was dreaming, and he believed that the woman he was snuggling up to and kissing to be none other than Laurel Lance. He was probably, " _sleep kissing_ " her, just as some people apparently sleep walked.

Nonetheless, the closeness felt right, felt so perfect.

They fit, as if she was made for him and he was made for her. But, the truth was she wasn't. 

 So, was this wrong? Was it a sin to be this close to a man, who belonged to someone else? Was it a sin to love him so much, to desire him, his touch so much?

Sin or not, the right thing to do was, obviously to go back to her room. He didn’t trust her fully, he was someone else's soulmate and he was asleep. She really shouldn't be there for all forementioned reasons and probably more.

Only if her brain had been in charge, she may have been the good angel she was supposed to be and have gotten out of his bed before things went any further. But, it seemed her brain no longer had a say on the matter. Something else was controlling her and it didn't let her move even a millimeter away from him. 

 

 Lust? Was it lust that was controling her?

 Honestly, when she heard him groan behind her, awakening sensations she didn't know existed, she just couldn't care anymore about what had come over her or what force was driving her. She simply let whatever feeling controlling her guide her body. She slowly and gently shifted her body against his.

To her surprise, he didn't wake up and move away, or throw her off the bed as she kept expecting him to. Instead, he stayed there and continued to do whatever he had been doing. He in fact, moved closer to her - moved with her in the same steady, unhurried rythm she was moving.

She tangled her feet between his legs behind her as his hand that had been resting on her thigh started to move higher. The pace was so slow and lazy, " _Higher_! _Faster!_ " Felicity wanted to cry. But, she didnt. She was too afraid Oliver would wake up and realize that she was not the woman he had been dreaming of. 

She gripped the sheet beneath her to make sure her hands wouldn't seek him out. So that her curious hands wouldn't reach out and grab the hardness probing on her back.

It wasn't the first time, he had cuddled her from behind. It wasn't the first time she had felt his hand on her bare skin nor the first time she had felt that growing buldge in his pants. There were many mornings, where she had left his bed confused, after feeling his hardened length against her back or after her hand had accidently landed on that area. However, this may have been the first time she had decided to simply indulge - to worry about what it all could mean and the consequences later.

She bit her lower lip expecting his hand to travel up to the hot wetness she felt soaking her panty. She wanted and needed to feel his hand there - for him to touch her there - to caress and sooth the ache she felt for him there. 

Was this what she had wanted him to do, all those times she had imagined his hand crawling under her dress?

She licked her lips. She was eager to know - to see where his hand was wandering to right now, but she didn't want to make any obvious or sudden movements and break the moment. So, she closed her eyes and imagined how it would look to have his large hand covering her sex.  She tried to imagine, how it would feel and what his fingers would do to her. Would he be rough? Gentle? Slow? The images, the thoughts flooding her mind made her breath hitch and her underwear wetter. 

She spread her legs little bit more, giving him more access. Oh, but, rather than placing his hand between her legs, where she so desperately wanted him to touch her, he moved his hand further up her hip bone, over the lacy frills of her panty to her waist. 

"Ah!" Before she could the stop herself she had moaned pleedingly. 

 Her eyes shot opened, fearing she may have woken him up - fearing it all may come to a dreadful stop.

Stangely, it hadn't. 

She felt no hesitation in his hands or lips. His right hand only stopped when the tips of his fingers met the underside of her breasts. She felt her body automatically curve towards him as his thumb began to tenderly caress the soft skin there. It was then, when she felt her nipples pebble, she realized that her t-shirt had ridden up along with his hand and that it was now barely covering her breasts. She knew she should pull it down and cover herself, but all she wanted to really do was pull it over her head and get rid of it. She wanted to get rid of every piece of clothing that covered her and every piece of clothing that coverd him. She wanted her bare skin to be touching his. She wanted to feel every muscles in his body ripple against her naked body.

"Hmm.." She moaned again as his hand went even higher - to her left breast. He began to squeeze it- tenderly rolling her nipple between his fingers. Her breaths fell heavily. She had never thought anything could ever feel so good. Chocolate mint chip ice cream didn’t even come close.

He moved her hair away with his hand and began to kiss that sensitive spot behind her ear. Her toes curled and she held on to the bedsheets harder to keep herself from shivering with need.

A sigh escaped her when his other hand once again started to move lower, down her abdomen to the thin waistband of her panty.

 Her heart beat eagerly. Her stomach fluttered in anticipation. She wanted him to rip the little lacy thing off of her. She wanted his hand to dip under the waistband and just touch her. She wanted his fingers inside her. She wanted that hardness she felt stroking her back to be burried inside her. Yet, after running his fingers teasingly along the lacy band, he ran his hand over the soft material of the panty, without slipping it under the clothing.

He didn't even give her a chance to feel dissapointed, in one quick movement, he had grabbed her throbbing soft nub that had been yearning for his touch. She gasped caught off guard. No one else had ever touched her there before or had touched her this way before and she didn't ever want it to be anyone else either.

Pressing his hand harder on her sex, he suckled on that magical spot behind her ear harder, as if he had been craving to do that for years. The feel of his hardened member brushing against her backside made her want to scream out his name. But she didn't. She couldn't. 

She pressed her legs together, trapping his hand between them. 

He began to probe her ear lobe with his tongue making her shudder with pleasure.

All of a sudden, she was wishing to feel those lips, that talented tongue to be where his hand was.

She wished to have his tongue lapping up those warm juices between her legs - to have it delve in and move inside her. 

She rocked into his hand as he slowly stroked her over her panty.

It felt so wonderful, but at the same time so sinful. So wrong. 

Wrong because, she was not his soulmate. Wrong because he was probably asleep and thought she was his soulmate, Laurel.

She felt as if she was using him. 

She was using a sleeping man, dreaming about his soulmate to quench her desires. 

This was not just wrong, but very wrong!

She shouldn't have let this go as far as it had gone. 

"Oliver, stop!" She grabbed the hand that was tucked between her legs and stopped him.

He froze and she winced.

What had she done?

"Oh God!" He jumped out of the bed.  

She felt a little stupid and a lot more dissapointed to see him bolt away from her so quickly. 

"Felicity, I'm so sorry. This... I thought you were-"  

"Someone else." She supplied, fixing her t- shirt while getting down from the other side of his bed.

"I.. I didn't-" He took a step towards her.

Her stomach did a strange flip catching a better glimpse of him - chest bare, sweatpants hanging low on his hips. She couldn't see the buldge in his pants, because of the lack of light, but she imagined it to still be there.

Another cold shower was in order, she mused as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She felt a bit too uncomfortable to be standing in front of him without a bra. She knew how flimsy the t-hirt material was and she knew her nipples can be seen right through it. There may not have been that much light, but she was still too self conscious - too aware of the blue eyed man in front of her, who had fondled her breasts not so long ago.

She remembered the first night she had slept in his room wearing this exact t-shirt and she remembered how his presence had made her aware of her body that night. She hadn't realized it then, but that had been the first time she had felt like a woman. However, with whatever that had happened between them or rather that had almost happened between them tonight, that awareness seemed to have reached a new level. Every part of her body felt extremely sensitve and aroused.

"Felicity, I didn know that-"

"You didn't know that it was me.. You were dreaming about Laurel. I get it. I'm ...but I... I...I'm sorry too. I thought you were someone else too." She lied, looking away from him. She didn't want to look like a pathetic fool, who was in love with a man that couldn't trust her completely. She didn't want to look like an idiot, who was lusting after a man that didn't want her or would ever want her. 

 "You thought I was someone else?"  He walked around the bed to get to where she was standing. "Who?" He growled and the tone just made her want to jump into his arms. 

She really needed another cold shower.

"I don't remember." She pressed her legs together and her soaked underwear reminded her of the way he had touched her earlier.

She really, really needed another shower or for cupid to come and tell her that there had been a mistake and she was allowed to be with Oliver Queen. To be honest, she preferred the latter scenario more.

"If you don't remember, how do you know it was someone else?" There were too many shadows dancing on his face, but she could faintly see his brow furrowing

 "Why ... why would I dream about you?" Because she loved him. Because she had been dreaming about him, his hands, his body and what his lips could do, with her eyes opened the whole night. No, she had been dreaming about him ever since the day she realized she was in love with him or maybe it had started even before that.

"Right..." he nodded once.

Was he jealous?

Did he sound dissapointed?

She really wish she could see his face more clearly, so that she could truly know what was going through his head.

For a few seconds both of them were just standing there, just staring.

"I think... I think I should go now...we have a big day ahead of us.. I mean the with the whole break up thing." She knew it would never happen, but she wanted him to say he didn't want to break up with her. In that moment she was sure if he had just said those words she would give up her mission once and for all.

_"Just say it, Oliver!"_ She willed.

 "Yeah, of course the breakup." He took a step back, giving her room so that she could leave. "Everything will go just as planned. We wouldn't won't anything to mess up your mission or for me to miss my chance to win my soulmate back, would we?"

She flinched.Those words broke her. The words didn't ring true, but then again why would he lie? Because, he thought he shouldn't love a woman that had been hiding her true identity from him? Because, he thought she was Felicity Smoak and all her talks about soul mates were lies? It was silly to even think that, he would even consider falling in love with her, when he already knew, who his soulmate was. "Yeah, we wouldn't want that. So I guess the breakup will happen as planned. See you at the club then." with that Felicity practically ran out of his room, closing the door behind her.

 

* * *

Oliver couldn't move. He simply stood there, glaring at the closed door. His arms felt empty without her envelped in them. His room felt lonely without her in it.

 She was wrong. Dead wrong about everything! 

He couldn't believe that the woman who was able see through his lies almost everytime, had thought he had been dreaming about some other woman while holding her -- the gorgeous, kind hearted woman, the angel he was in love with. 

He had wanted to tell her how wrong she was and tell her how much he loved her right then and there.

In fact, he had almost, grabbed a hold of her and had told her just that, before she had confessed to have been dreaming about another man.

He figured, that may have been why she couldn't see what he felt for her - because, she didn't feel the same way about him. " _Why would I dream about you?_ " Her words had hurt him more than the bruises on his body. 

It was true that her eyes had always always lingered on him whenever he was shirtless or whenever he was up on the salmon ladder. She was physically attracted to him and she was not so good at hiding the attraction. However, that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't another guy she was more attracted to than him. 

Iron man?  All those square jawed princes from those disney movies? Tommy, the man that made her giggle? 

He hated them all.

He hated himself most of all.

If only he had made different choices with his life. If only he wasn't a bow wielding vigilante. If only he had never gotten on that boat.

But, would he have ever met his angel if he had never gotten on that boat? Would she have dropped from the sky and fallen right in front of his Ducati?

He turned the lights on before sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked at the rumpled sheets behind him and smoothed the little dip on the middle of bed that was shaped like the two of them.

When he had not so surprisingly, heard her enter his room - heard her bare feet padding against the floor - he had been ditermined to stay on his side of the bed. 

And he had - for the first few minutes.

She had begun to toss and turn in her sleep, mumbling something close to his name and he had without a second thought had rolled closer to her.

She had relaxed almost immediately, when he had wrapped his arms around her petite frame.

"Cute." She had muttered in her sleep and he hadn't been able to stop smiling at her then. But, now, he wondered whether she had been referring to the man she had been dreaming about.

"Shit!" He grumbled, thinking about how stupid he had been - about how he had thought she had wanted the samething as him - to forget about the rest of the world and just let whatever that was happening between them just happen.

He remembered being in that strange place between sleep and wake, when he had caught his hand gliding up her leg. And before he had even realized it, he was kissing the slope of her neck, sporting a hard-on.

He was just about to get out of the  bed,  go to the bathroom and probably get off thinking about her. But, then she had moved -softly. Smoothly against his erection and he didn't want to leave his bed.

He realized that after tonight he may not ever see her in his bed like this again. He was certain that he wouldn't ever have the chance to wrap his arms around her tiny lithe body like this again. Thus, he hadn't wanted to let go of her. 

He had carefuly lifted his head, merely to check if she was awake or if she was grinding against him in her sleep. 

He could swear he had seen those blue eyes wide open when he glanced down at her over her head. Perhaps, he had seen what he wanted to see. But if he had thought she had been asleep, he wouldn't have let his hand roam further up her body the way it had. He wouldn't have kneeded her breasts or even think about sliding his hand to her sex -at least not deliberately, while he was wide awake. Although, he wasn't wasn't so sure about his contol anymore. His control had always been on the verge of slipping entirely, when it came to Felicity. However, tonight, he had found it to be slipping faster than usual.

There had been something in the air the whole night. From the moment he had walked into the foundry and seen her sitting all alone in that chair too big for her, he had wanted to do nothing but kiss her, taste her. He had even forgotten about the bad night he had and the bruises on his body, until she had asked him about it. 

He had tried to distance himself from her, but it felt impossible. He kept gravitating towards her. One minute he would be pushing her hand away, rejecting her tender touch and then on the next, he would be right behind her, imagining how it would feel to push her against that damn freezer in the foundry and just devour her lips - run his hands all over her supple bare skin - over her smooth belly and over her bare bottom.

He was hard again. "Fuck!" he got up from the bed.

The breakup was clearly getting to him more than he thought it would. The thought of not being able to be with her ever again was hitting him harder than he had expected.

That had to be why all this was happening - why he had almost burried his fingers inside her while she supposedly slept dreaming of someone that wasn't him.

He needed to do something to get her out of his mind. He needed to get used to being without her.  Felicity wouldn't be here forever. Even if she somehow stayed, he couldn't have her or be with her the way he wanted to.

He pulled out a hoodie from his closet and decided to go for a jog. Hopefully, when he returned he would be more in control of himself and he would be able to forget what had almost happened in his bed. He would hopefully be able to forget how he had made the woman he was in love with moan, shiver and oh so wet.

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I accidentally posted this.
> 
> So here's the next chapter.
> 
> I'm still editing. But, there won't be any major changes. You guys can still read.
> 
> I have a feeling you'll be feeling bad for Oliver then you'll be angry with Oliver and then you'll be feeling bad for Felicity and then bad for Oliver and then you'll be angry at both of them.
> 
> But. hopefully you'll like the ending.

The weather had been erratic the last couple of days. Last night, it had been scorching hot, but tonight, it was raining cats and dogs. Oliver had seen worse days during his time on the island of course, but the rain, the dark clouds, that had taken over Starling skies tonight, were making him feel lonely - making him want to stay in his room the whole night, cuddling a particular blonde he was supposed to break up within a few minutes.

"Here you go, Mr. Queen." The bartender finally handed him his glass of scotch - the second one he had ordered during the fifteen minutes he had been there.

"Thanks." He took a sip, wishing that the DJ was playing one of those meaningless techno songs with hard thumping drumbeats he usually played, as opposed to the 90's rock ballads Thea had requested for. Then, he wouldn't have had to hear himself think. 

"Hey, brother dearest!" He felt Thea's hand drop over his shoulder from behind.

"Hey." He wanted to greet his sister back as enthusiastically as she had done, but he was too tired.

 

Tired of pretending to be happy. Tired of pretending to be fine with the whole breakup plan. Tired of trying to forget Felicity and what had almost transpired between them in his bedroom.

Jogging, exercising, beating up the dummy in the foundry, not even the scotch apparently was enough to make him forget his worries. None of them were really helping him forget how much he didn't want this breakup to happen. 

He twirled the glass slowly in his hand, eyes set on the ice cubes resting at the bottom. He hoped at least this glass of scotch would help burn away that strange feeling in his gut that had been bothering him through out the day. 

"So, Ollie..." Thea sat on the stool next to him and grabbed the glass from his hands to get his full attention. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

He looked up at his sister slightly confused. This was her plan. She was the master mind behind it. Why was she asking him this now, when she didn't ask for his opinion before suggesting all this to Felicity? And why was she looking back at him as if she already knew his answer, but she just wanted hear him say it out loud?

"Thea I.." He opened his mouth to say no - to say that this was not what he wanted, but what would be the point? What he wanted to happen was not what needed to happen. "This is what she wants, isn't it?" He nabbed the glass back from Thea and drank the whole thing in one go.

"That's not what I asked." She rolled her eyes at him.

 "Does it matter?" He gestured the bartender for a refill.

 "If you tell me you don't have an epi pen in your pocket right now, then what you want doesn't matter... Then we go through with the plan."

 Oliver's  hand automatically went to the epi pen he had been carrying around in his jacket. How the hell did Thea know? No one was supposed to know. Not even Diggle knew.

 "Don't look so surprised Ollie. You are not as hard to read as you think you are...well, you are- most of the time, but not when it comes to Felicity." 

 "It's just an epi pen, Speedy." 

 Thea just flashed him a knowing smile.

 "And anyway isn't this whole thing your idea?" He looked over her head to see what was taking the bartender so long. He needed that drink now!

 "I know I've been kind of pushing you two to go through with this whole breakup thing. I mean, I did give you both some lines to practice, but... I thought you two knuckle heads would figure things out by yourselves, before tonight. I thought the idea of the breakup would make you two understand that you want the opposite.  _'A Not Breakup'_ " She air quoted the last few words.

 He grumbled. His sister's plan had done exactly what it was supposed to do. He wanted " _A Not Breakup_ ". But, the problem was, there were too many problems - too many obstacles standing in their way. And, the breakup up seemed the most safe and the responsible thing he could do. 

 "But, I have to admit, in the beginning I just wanted to help Felicity, because I thought that Laurel would make you happy - and I may have also very selfishly thought that being with Laurel would bring the old Ollie back." Thea admitted with a wince.

 He couldn't blame Thea for thinking that way. He understood her. He wasn't the "Fun Ollie" Thea remembered, even if he had been trying to show everyone he still was. He was now a more responsible and a caring brother, but that wasn't the brother Thea had lost five years ago and he felt guilty about it. "Speedy I-" 

 "It's alright Ollie. I love the new you too. Maybe even more than the old you. It just took me some time to get used to." She gave him a toothy smile and he saw a glimpse of his little, freckled sister that wanted to grow up to become a super hero one day.

 He accepted her words with a smile of his own. "Well, it wasn't easy for me to see my baby sister walking into a gala with her boyfriend either." He spotted Roy just then, standing more than a few feet behind them both. He was pretty hard to miss in that red hoodie of his anyway. Does he ever wash that thing?

  He scowled at the kid. "What did you say Roy does again? And, how old is he?" After Roy had come to his and Felicity's rescue, Oliver now saw Roy in a new light. That said, he was still Thea's big brother and he couldn't not worry about her. Of course, he could use his computer at the foundry or follow the kid around for a couple of days and find everything about him. But, he hadn't. Not because he didn't want to, but, because, Felicity had somehow managed to convince him that doing a background check on him was unnecessary. Because she believed, Roy could be trusted.

 "Let's not distract ourselves by talking about me, shall we?" Thea gave him yet another eye roll.

 "Mr. Queen," The bartender popped in with the refill and Oliver quietly reached for the glass. If he were to continue this conversation with Thea, he was going to need that drink in his system fast. 

 "You know, Felicity is in the storeroom all by herself right now. You can just go and talk to her...   and tell her how you feel. I mean, wouldn't that be so much better than sitting here and sulking, wasting the good scotch?"

 He glared at Thea over the rim of his glass as he downed his drink. 

 She sighed and shook her head, "I don't get it. What's stopping you?"

 "It's complicated." He put the glass down on the bar with a thud.

  "Complicated?" She scoffed, her eyes drifting to the empty glass and then back at him. "You are happier with her than you've ever been with anyone, Ollie. You are more relaxed whenever she is around. I think you're making things more complicated than it actually is. Felicity makes you happy. She's beautiful, kind, funny. And you love her. It's so very simple. You just need to march down to the storeroom, where our angel is hiding and tell her that you love her."

 It did seem pretty simple the way Thea put it. But, there were complications Thea wasn't aware of. Like the fact that he led a very dangerous life or the fact that he shouldn't even touch someone like Felicity with his blood tainted hands. However, they were not the biggest reason that was holding him back. "I don't think she feels the same way, Thea. She wants the breakup."  

 "Are you serious? You really believe that? She didn't know there was an ulterior meaning to sleeping with someone, until recently. Do you think she knows what she wants? And, even if she does know, do you think Felicity can understand what  _you_  want without  _you_  telling her? Do you think she can understand that you don't believe Laurel is your soul mate?"

 He considered what Thea pointed out for a second. Yet, he couldn't just forget about all the other complications.

 Would she be safe with him? Would she be happy with him? Would she leave him in another month's time?

 "Laurel will be here in a few minutes. You have until then to decide whether you want to go through this plan of mine or not." Thea stood up to go. "Then, if you want to go through with the breakup, just give me a signal and-" She stopped mid sentence to point at a man dressed in a black shirt and a pair of leather pants. Light bounced off of the man's dark greasy hair and his eyes kept following every female that walked past him.

 "You see that guy over there talking with Roy? That's Dean. He is from the Glades. He is the guy that will be kissing your Felicity, when you walk into the storeroom with Laurel to fetch her birthday cake. That is, only if you decide to go through with the breakup."

 He could almost see how the wheels are turning in Thea's head. She was trying to make him jealous, hoping it would provoke him to go down to the storeroom and profess his love to Felicity.

 He had to admit, even after realizing that Thea was trying to manipulate him, her words still affected him. The picture she managed to paint in his mind - of Felicity and the greasy headed guy,  made his heart burn with jealousy.

 He couldn't bare the thought of someone else kissing her, someone else touching her. He couldn't bare the thought of someone else making her moan as he had made her moan in his bed few hours ago. He knew how good it felt to have her in his arms and he didn't want anyone else to ever have that same knowledge. 

If the empty glass had been in his hand, he was sure he would have crushed it into bits.  

He couldn't remember feeling this possessive over anyone his entire life and it frightened him. And, that was just one more reason why this breakup should happen. Because, what he felt for her, how deeply those feelings ran, scared him. It made him wonder what he would do and how he would react if something were to happen to her or if she were to leave him. 

She in a way was his kryptonite. She made him feel normal, human, vulnerable and he couldn't allow that to happen. He couldn't afford it, even if he wanted it so much -even if he wanted to feel that way so much. 

He sighed and thought of ordering another glass, but the sight of his mother and her new husband entering the club made him stop. "Care to tell me what mom is doing here? And isn't Walter supposed to be still in Australia?"

 "What?" Thea turned her head towards the entrance and her eyes went wide seeing their mother and step father standing there. "Ok, I don't know why Walter is not in Australia anymore. But, mom may have... sort of... over heard me planning Felicity's birthday party over the phone and she may have invited herself to the party....and I may have conveniently forgotten to tell you all about it until now." She pouted, just like she used to do when she was a little girl.

 He glared at her.

 It felt as if things couldn't get any worse for him. His mother had come to adore Felicity. She would feel completely devastated by the scene that would eventually unfold, if he were to go through with Thea's plan.

 "Oh look, I think Roy's calling me," Thea slipped away quickly into the small crowd behind, leaving Oliver to deal with their mother and Walter by himself.

 "Oliver!" He heard his mother call him over the soft music.

 Putting on a smile, he stood up to greet her. "Hey, mom...  Walter." He acknowledged his step father with a simple nod.

 "Oliver, is everything set? When is Felicity going to be here?" His mother asked as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

 "Soon..." Oliver kissed her cheek dutifully and turned to Walter." So, how are things in Australia, Walter? I thought you were coming back next week?"

 "I thought I'd surprise your mom. And, as for business in Australia....I can proudly say, I did everything I could do to increase the profit and cut down costs without any layoffs." .

"That's good to hear." Oliver may never really be able to see Walter Steel as a father figure, but he was beginning to respect Walter as a businessman. He had heard only good things about the man after he had returned from the island. 

 "You know Oliver, you could go and visit the company there and see what's going on yourself... and take Felicity with you. Stay for a few extra days and make a vacation out of it." Moira Queen threw what she thought was the right dose of incentive to make her son take an interest in their family company. 

 It was the right dose of incentive alright. The idea of leaving the darkness behind and going somewhere far away with Felicity was more than a little tempting and he had to remind himself that there were important missions and soul mates to be dealt with. "Felicity doesn't like kangaroos."  He used her dislike for kangaroos as a means of steering the conversation into another direction. 

Walter laughed, "So, when am I going to meet this Felicity your mother and Thea keep raving about?"

 "When I called her, she said she's at a friends' place. Diggle, my bodyguard is going to bring her here in a few minutes." Oliver informed as he eyed the doorway leading to the storeroom, where Felicity actually was.

"She's all your mother has been talking about for the past few days. She says Felicity is different ... and the prettiest girl you've ever dated."

 He raised his brows at his mother, a small smile tugging on his lips.

 "I'm sure Oliver has some pictures of her on his phone, which he can share with us to prove me right." Moira turned to Oliver.

 There weren't any pictures of her on his phone to share. None. There had been a few times, especially few mornings, where he had almost reached for his phone and snapped a few photographs of her while she slept. But, he had stopped himself every time. He had felt as if he had no right to own a photograph of her. So, he had most mornings tried to take in every detail, remember every soft line on her face as if they weren't already seared into his brain. However, now that the breakup was upon them he regretted never taking a photograph of her. "I'm sorry but I don't have-"

 "Wait, I think Thea took a few with my phone, last night." Moira fished her phone out from her clutch and began to search for the photographs. "There you go. This is us, on our way to start of our girls night out, which Thea and I regrettably had to cancel." She moved her thumb over the screen to move from one photograph to the other.

 Most of them were selfies taken in their limo and in most of them Thea was sitting in between Felicity and his mother. In one of them, Thea had her head on their mother's shoulder and her legs flung across his sweet Felicity's lap. Felicity was looking at the camera as if she was caught off guard by the flash light, but she still looked as gorgeous as ever. 

 There were more than few with just Felicity and Thea. He particularly loved the one, where his sister was kissing Felicity's cheek, with her arms wrapped around her tightly. Felicity was smiling widely, happy tears springing out from her eyes.

 The last one was of just Felicity and his mother. There was a slight awkwardness between the two. Felicity's nervous smile was understandable, he thought. She had always been intimidated by his mother. And, while Moira Queen photographed well for news papers, magazines and what not, she had never been that good at smiling for family photographs. So, he wasn't surprised by his mother's barely there smile either. But, what surprised him was to see that care in her eyes - the look she usually kept reserved for Thea and himself.

 As he stared at the photographs he felt something change inside of him. He felt something awaken inside him. Other than that usual tug he felt whenever he looked at Felicity, there was a different kind of a pull. There was another kind of wanting growing inside of him.

 It took him a while to recognize what it was. 

 He wanted this family.

 He wanted this happiness. 

 He wanted what he saw on those pictures to be an everlasting thing.

 He imagined himself sitting alongside the three of them - the three most important women in his life. His mother, sister and his love. He imagined himself smiling for a picture with his family. He imagined all three of them taking family photographs under a Christmas tree. He imagined just Felicity and him then- under a mistletoe, in his room, in his car, in the foundry and on his Ducati - always smiling, always happy.

 Oh, why the hell had he never taken a picture of her from his phone? Now he may never get the chance. He was angry at himself and jealous of his mother for owning all those pictures of Felicity.

 "I'm not surprised at all to see you all enamored by this girl. I've met her myself long ago... Five years ago, if my memory serves me right... and she with all her babbling just brought some much needed light into the boardroom. I just didn't know you were talking about the same Felicity."

 Walter's words brought Oliver's whole world, his thoughts to a crashing stop. "What?" His gaze fell on the tall man standing next to his mother. He was smiling as he reminisced on the day, he had supposedly met Felicity five years ago, but Oliver was far from smiling.

 "That's Felicity Smoak, isn't it? She graduated top of her class from MIT and we wanted her working at Queen Consolidated from the day she graduated. Although, after her interview most of the members at the interview board thought she was a little too.... I think 'Odd and awkward' were the words they used to describe her.

They were not really that impressed with her. But, I saw her potential and I wanted her working at QC immediately. I called the HR myself and asked them to tell her she was hired."  Walter took his  mother's phone into his hand and went through the pictures again. "She never came to work though. I just figured she took a job at Wayne Enterprises or at Kord. I remember that they all wanted Miss Smoak working for them."

This information wasn't anything new to Oliver. He had known that there could be a Felicity Smoak somewhere out there. An IT genius with a degree from MIT. He had also been aware of the possibility of his Felicity turning out to be that Felicity Smoak. However, hearing someone actually say that they've met her, felt very different to seeing it on a file on the computer. It didn't confirm any suspicions nor did he now suddenly believe Felicity's angel story any less, but there was this nagging voice in his head that was telling him to be careful with his heart.

 "You have to be mistaken, Walter. She said her name is Felicity Gilbert." Moira seemed more than a little unwilling to believe what she was hearing .

 "But, I very distinctly remember her interview. She started talking about her love for IT and ended up talking about how she once ate a piece pot brownie by mistake in college...She said she landed in the hospital because the brownie had nuts in it. She apparently has a nut allergy..." Walter handed the phone back to Moira. "You don't forget interviews like that, easily."

 Oliver's hand once again wandered to the epi pen he had in his pocket.

Could it be? Could she really be Felicity Smoak? 

He couldn't understand what was going on. He didn't know what he should be feeling.

Should everything he just heard change what he felt for her? 

But, if he had been looking for a sign to tell him, whether he should go through with the break up or not, he decided that this had to be it. "Excuse me, I just remembered that I have to do something."

"Please, don't do anything rash honey. I think there has to be a reasonable explanation behind it." Moira grabbed Oliver's arm and stopped him.

 "Your mother is right, Oliver." Walter added.

 "I have to go mom." Oliver took his mother's hand off of his arm and began to walk through the small crowd in search of Thea.

 "Oliver..." He could hear his mother calling after him, but his mind was set on finding Thea and telling her that he had decided to go through with the break up.

 

* * *

His sister wasn't hard to find. She was sitting in a VIP booth, on the second floor, talking with few girls probably a bit older than her. The night had only begun and the other girls already looked wasted.

 "Ollie?" Thea must have read that there was something wrong by the look on his face, because the moment she saw him, she excused herself and walked over to him with a frown.

 "I'm going to breakup with her." He told her and turned on his heel.

 "What? Ollie, stop! What happened?"  

 He kept walking and Thea kept following him. The lack of crowd in the VIP area made it harder for him to dodge his sister.

 "Are you sure about this? Are you sure this is what you really want?"

 He stopped in his tracks, a hand grabbing hold of the railing next to him. Was he sure about it? Was this what he really wanted? No and No. Yet, it felt as if it would be for the best if they part ways now, before things got messier. He felt he should let her go before he and his entire family fell more in love with her. "This is for the best." He finally turned to look at Thea.

 "Ollie..." She was angry and wasn't convinced.

 He knew if he stayed there any longer she would try to tell him how very wrong and stupid he was being.

He wasn't in the right mind frame to listen to anyone or understand anything. With everything he had heard Walter say, with everything Felicity had said to him - how she had been dreaming of another man while he was with her, while he kissed her, he just didn't want to understand and find reasons to stop the break up. He just wanted to do something. Do something to get rid of that horrible pang in his chest. So, he turned around and started to walk away before his little sister began to lecture him about love and happiness - things a monster like him didn't deserve to have.

"I thought you were not the old Ollie anymore.  I thought my brother no longer ran away from his problems!" Thea had somehow managed to over take him and stand blocking his path.

"I'm not running away Thea. This is the right thing to do!" But why did it feel like he was running away? Why did it feel so wrong?

"Ok then, if you are sure..." Thea took her phone and went through her contacts. "I'm going to call Roy and I'm going to tell him to send Dean over to the storeroom right now. Then, when Laurel gets here, I will send a signal to Dean and Felicity, then they will start making out as planned." she said with her finger hovering on the dial button, giving him time to stop her if he wanted to.

He almost did. He had almost grabbed that phone out of Thea's hand and thrown it across the room. But, he didn't.

Thea sighed, finally realizing that he wasn't going to do anything to stop her. "Then I will send you and Laurel to get the birthday cake from the storeroom.... where you'll find the woman you love in the arms of another man."

 "Ok." He flicked his index finger against his thumb. Thea was trying to make him jealous, yet again and it was working, yet again.

 " Do you remember your lines?" She was stalling. 

 "Just make the call Speedy!" Maybe he was just being stubborn. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe he had enough, listening to Felicity constantly pushing him towards Laurel. Maybe he was simply an idiot, a coward. Maybe it was because of all those reason and more.  He wasn't sure. But, he felt that this breakup was necessary. 

 "Don’t beat up Dean that much. He only agreed to get punched twice."

 He couldn't promise her that. His blood was boiling at the mere thought of another man touching his angel. "Make the call Thea!" He muttered between gritted teeth.

 She huffed angrily before pressing that big green dial button on the screen. 

 Oliver turned the other way.

 "It's done." Thea said after awhile.

 "Good." He dared not look at his sister as he quickly went past her to his office.

 

* * *

Oliver closed the office door behind him with a bang.

Since, he hadn't been inside the office in weeks, everything there felt slightly new to him. 

Scanning the unfamiliar knick-knacks Tommy had put about the room, Oliver slumped into the chair behind the large desk there. The chair felt smaller than he remembered and he suddenly realized that he may not have sat in it more than twice after opening the club. He had let Tommy take care of the club by himself, giving his input on matters only when his friend had asked for it. He felt bad for putting the whole burden of running the club up on Tommy's shoulders, but he had no choice. His other night job required his full attention and time.

He closed his eyes feeling a headache coming on at the sight of the files and documents piled up on the desk in front of him. The clutter was hard to handle, with everything that was going on in his head. 

He thought about every major decision he had ever taken - from his decision to go on that trip to China with his father, to putting on that green hood, to taking an angel to his secret hideout and to deciding to breakup with her.

 Felicity.

Her image appeared in his mind once again and the flutter in his stomach, he had been feeling the whole day grew a little more. 

 What the hell was he doing? Why was he pushing away the only good thing in his life? What was he really scared of? Hurting her? Getting hurt? Or both?

 Sound of someone softly tapping on the door, made him open his eyes. His desperate heart hoped that it was Felicity, waiting for him to open the door, so that she could tell him that she didn't want to breakup with him.

He hoped against hope that she had come up to his office to say that she loved him and she was in fact his soul mate. 

 The door opened slowly. "Ollie?" But, there stood Laurel, instead of the bubbly blonde he yearned to see. 

 "Hey, Thea told me to help you get the birthday cake out of the storeroom." She walked into the office.

 He just sat there silent and still for a long moment. The show was about to begin and he didn't feel neither ready or sure about it. But, at the same time he felt as it was now too late to turn back.

 "Um yeah" He finally decided to stand up.

 "She said, your bodyguard is already on his way to pick Felicity up and we should get everything ready quickly." Laurel stood with her arms folded in front of her chest. She didn't look comfortable being there and he didn't feel any differently about the situation. 

  "Ok let's go." He followed her out of the room. 

 "Tommy told me to say sorry to Felicity and to you for not coming to the party. His father is back in town and he wanted to do a family dinner. Tommy didn't want to. But, you know how manipulative and persuasive Malcolm can be." 

 It came as a no surprise to hear Laurel sound so exasperated, when talking about Malcolm. Tommy's father, Malcolm Merlyn never liked the idea of Laurel and Tommy spending so much time together for some reason - even when they were kids. 

 "Yeah.." Oliver mumbled. From the corner of his eye he could see Thea standing under an alcove with her phone on her ear. He figured she was letting Dean and Felicity know that they were on their way. 

 "You know, I'm really surprised that you're dating someone like Felicity." She said as they climbed down the stairs.

 "What do you mean _'someone_ _like Felicity'_?" His eyes snapped to her.

 "I mean she's cute. She's nice. I like her. but she doesn't look like your type."

 She's not just cute. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and it wasn't just skin deep like most women he had met in his life. He had in fact never met anyone like her. When she stared into his eyes with those sparkling blue eyes of hers, he felt like she could see into his soul. "I don't know how to answer that except to say, that you don't know Felicity and you dont know me... " 

 "I know you like I know my own name, Ollie." She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and turned to him.

He flinched at the way she said 'Ollie'. "Do you really believe that Laurel?" If she knew him at all she would have known that he wouldn't appreciate her talking about his relationahip with Felicity that way. She had never really understood him. She never would. 

 Yet, Felicity knew him. She had been a part of his life for barely two months, but she could read him, his moods better than anyone.

In the begining, she may not have approved of the way he handled things, but she had understood his reasons and helped him see that he could fulfill his father's last wish without killing people. She had shown him he could be something more tham just a man striking out names in a list.

He doubted Laurel or anyone else for that matter would have ever been able to do that. There was just something about his angel. 

 "I just thought.... " Laurel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Nevermind, let's just go and get the cake." she started walking towards the storeroom again.

He walked alongside her, his heart pounding hard at what he knew was awaiting him in the storeroom.

 Laurel pushed open the large doors that led to the room. Oliver was hesitant to enter. However, when he heard one of the steel racks shake and Felicity let out a soft sigh, he had stepped inside before Laurel.

Tidal waves of anger, jealousy and possessiveness hit Oliver at the sight of the two fake lovers. He froze, unable to understand which emotion he should deal with first.

Dale, Dave, Dick, whatever the guy's name was, he had Felicity pressed up against one of the steel shelves. She had her arms around his neck as he pressed butterfly kisses on her jaw. One of his grabby hands was on her leg, inching up towards her ass and the other was playing with the gold chain around her neck - the one _he_ had given her.

 And, why had she chosen to wear green of all colours tonight? It wasn't just any green, but Hood green, _his_ green. 

 Was she trying to mess with his head someway? Was she trying to tell him something by it?

  "Ah.." She  was making noises, making faces, which to an outsider would have looked as if she was enjoying the advances made by the man she was with. Yet, Oliver knew better. He knew her. He knew those weren't the noises she usually made when someone was kissing her. These were not real. They were not happy sounds. In fact, there was a note of irritation to the sound. In fact, she was squirming everytime the other man's hand moved upon her leg.

 "Oh my God!" When Laurel softly gasped, the Felicity's fake lover finally stopped kissing, but his hands stayed where they were.

 

 

 "Oliver you're .. You're not supposed to be here." Felicity stuttered out the first line from Thea's script.

 "I thought you said your boyfriend was out of town?" The man holding Felicity said his line.

 "Get your hand off of her!" But, that wasn't Oliver's line.  He couldn't even remember what the line was.

The reasons as to why he had agreed to do all this had flown out of his mind.

All he remembered was that what he said wasn't even remotely close to what Thea had wanted him to say. All he could see was that there was a pair of hands on Felicity that were not his - a pair of hands she very clearly didn't want touching her.

And, all he wanted to see was for the owner of those hands to be standing as faraway as possible from her.

 "She doesn't seem to mind." Felicity's pretend lover seemed to have decided to make up his own lines as well. 

 "Ollie, don't do anything stupid. It's not worth it." Laurel held him back just when he was about to step forward and rip the other man's hands away from Felicity. Because, clearly, the man paid to act like Felicity's secret lover, still hadn’t realized that he wasn't going along with the breakup plan anymore.

 He tossed Laurel's hand away and stepped forward. Two strides and he had  torn the two fake lovers apart and had the man by his throat.

 "Dude You're supposed drag this whole show outside first." The man whispered so that Laurel couldn't hear.

 Oliver didn't know why he hadn’t hit him already. It  most probably had something to do with the way Felicity said his name, tugging on his arm. She wasn't neither loud nor was she pulling his arm too roughly. But, he couldn't just disregard her - shake her hand off of his arm and just hit the man..

 "I'm sorry, Oliver you're. .. You're always not around and I was... lonely and- " 

 It felt as if someone had stabbed him right in his chest. Felicity was continuing with the script, eventhough she very well knew that he was not acting according to Thea's script anymore. She really did seem as if she wanted this break up.

 He turned to look at her, his hands still on her fake lover's throat.

 Her hand slipped off from his arm.  "But, this doesn’t mean anything... I was just... I don't know.. this... he... Dean... he's just....just..." She stammered, losing her way for a while. "You have to believe me Oliver... ... this is just... just a mistake.. It won't happen again. I'm sorry. Please forgive me... I.. I... " She seemed unsure whether she should say the next line on the script or not. 

But, then she said it. "I love you."

His heart, he was sure stopped beating at that.

He realeased the man he had in his clutches and simply stared at her.

It didn't seem  as if she was about to comapre him to any sort of ice cream, unlike the first time she had said those same words to him. The words somehow felt far more real this time.  The way she looked at him as she said those words made him think she may have meant it. But, she couldn't have. Because, it was a just another line from the script. He remembered reading that line and trying to imagine how she would deliver those three words and how he would try not to react to those three words. He was hurt, dejected, but at the same time he knew he couldn't blame only her. He too had agreed do this. 

A tear ran down from her eye as she silently stared back at him - as she probably waited for him to say his lines.

Acting or not, if she had meant it or not, he wanted nothing but to smear that tear away from her eyes and comfort her - hug her. 

But, would she want him to? Would she let him?

She had always pushed him towards Laurel. She had always pushed him to be with her. She wanted this breakup.

Then suddenly, all the reasons why they couldn't ever be together began to swirl around  in his mind.  

Everything Walter had said began to mess with his head. 

Before he even knew it, sadness had slowly changed into anger. His hands were balling into fists. "Stop! ... Just Stop lying to me! You're not who I thought you were!" Those may have been lines out of the script, but if the shaken expression on  Felicity's face was any indication, the words had come out sounding too real. Maybe in his state of frustration, he truly had meant them, just for that tiny fraction of time.

"Felicity..." He hadn't meant to hurt her in anyway when he had agreed to go along with the breakup. That had never been his intention.

Her mouth opened as if she wanted to protest, but then it snapped shut again.

Tears were welling up in her eyes and he couldn't bare to see her look back at him this sad and hurt. 

He turned to go.

"Hey man..." Felicity's pretend lover put his hand on Oliver's shoulder to turn him around and apparently that was all what Oliver had needed to lose that bit of control that had kept him from punching the guy.

One punch and the man had fallen to the floor like a log.

Laurel screamed and rushed to his side, but Felicity didn't make a sound

Oliver quickly walked out of the room not wanting to find out why Felicity was so silent. 

It hurt more than he thought it would be to walk away from her. He had been tortured on the island, had taken bullets to his chest, stabbed by rival mafia members, but he had never felt this much pain before.

"Ollie!" Laurel yelled as she came running after him.

He just kept walking towards the crowd that had no clue about what had happened between him and the girl whose fake birthday they were there to celebrate.

He saw Thea sitting by the bar. She raised her brows in question.

 The breakup hadn't gone according to her plan. He had failed to drag everything out of the storeroom and into the middle of the club and create a big scene - which according to Thea was supposed to earn lot of sympathy points from Laurel. He could careless about any of it. Sympathy points from Laurel, winning Laurel's heart, Laurel herself had been the fartherst thing on his mind, perhaps ever since the day he had met Felicity.

"Oliver! "

He was at the middle of the club, when he heard Felicity yell out his name and he had turned around to her voice immediately. "Felicity?"

"I always thought... I hoped that one day, you would believe me, trust me...you would lo-"

Whatever song that had been playing had been its coda and it abruptly stopped when everyone's attention fell to both of them.

"I kept hoping that one day you would.... and then... this... what you said just now.... that picture of her, in your computer...I get it now." She stepped closer to him.

"Felicity what are you talk -" He wasn't sure if she was continuing the act, whether she was trying to make it look like he had been in love with someone while he was with her. But, the tears rolling down her cheeks, quickly convinced him that this was no act. His Felicity had found the picture of Felicity Smoak.

"Take this." She took off the gold chain and pendant hanging on her neck and handed it to him. 

He had always hated to see that thing on her neck, but now seeing her neck bare - seeing her without it, made him feel like even more of a jerk than he did the night he had gifted it to her just to keep tabs on her.

He looked down at the locket in his hand. He knew what the heart shaped tracker meant to her. It was about gaining his trust and now it seemed as if she was giving up on it. She thought that she would never be able to make him trust her. "Felicity... I.. " Palming the pendant, he glanced up - only to discover that she had already run off.

The DJ said something into the microphone and the music started to play again. But, he could still feel all eyes on him. In the distance, he could see his mother and Walter waitng for an explanation. Few feet to the left of him, he could see Laurel staring at him. He could hear people whisper about the two of them, say things about Felicity. The were calling her a just another girl, just another notch on his belt.

"What the hell was that all about? What did you say to her Ollie?" Thea was fuming.

"I've got to go." That's all he knew. He had to go and find her. He didn't know what he was going to say to her. He just knew he had to go to her.

"You better make things right!" Thea threatened as he darted through the crowd, towards the exit.

* * *

"Felicity!" He ran out into the street calling her name, but she was no where to be seen. There was barely anyone on the street, in fact.

He jumped over a huge puddle of water and crossed the street searching for her. It was still raining, but not as heavily it had been an hour ago.

Just when he was about go and look for her somewhere else, he saw a flash of green, entering a narrow lane few blocks away from him. "Felicity!" He ran towards the green figure, hoping his eyes hadn't deceived him.

"Felicity." He eventually found her. The road she had been on had led her to a dead end. He dress was so soaked it had stuck to her body like a second skin and her shoulders were shaking as if she was cold.

"Go away, Oliver! Go to Laurel." She didn't even turn to look at him.

"I can't do that. I don't want to." He slowly approached her, fighting the sudden gush of wind that blew across his face.

"I don't want to talk to you." She was sobbing, he could tell.

"Felicity I'm so sorry.... Please look at me...." He took one more step and turned her around to him from her shoulders. Rain drops fell on to her long lashes and then streamed down her face along with her tears.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you ... it's just. .. I'm an idiot, Felicity." He wiped her tears away with his thumbs and she finally gazed up at him.

"No, I'm the idiot. I kept thinking that one day you will trust me. And, what you said back there, the way you said it... and that picture of Felicity Smoak in your computer is proof that you never will!" She tried to squirm away from him, but he didn't let her.

He cupped her face with both his hands and made sure she couldn't look away from him."It's not what you think. Please believe me, Felicity. We found that information when we first met you, but I never really looked that deep in to it. Because, I never really cared. I mean, if I did I would have done lot more than just keep that file in my computer." 

He could feel her body relax. He could see the anger and the despair in her eyes slowly fade away.

"I never wanted this breakup. I agreed to it because I thought that's what you wanted. And, then, Walter said something about Felicity Smoak and I just... It just messed with my head. I trust you, Felicity. And, I don't want Laurel. I love y-"

She put her hand over his mouth. "Stop! Don't say it! You will regret it one day. Because, you and her.. are meant to be. She's your--"

He tore her hand away from his face. "You are wrong, Felicity! Your cupid is wrong! Once, you told me that I should know in my heart, who my soulmate is. And, it's telling me you’re wrong. It told me you were wrong the night you first asked. I just couldn't understand it back then. I was too stubborn to listen to it then. You're my soul mate, Felicity."

She somehow managed to wriggle away from him. "Oliver...I can't." She tired to run past him.

 He turned around and grabbed her by her wrist just before she was about to go past him. He pulled her and she twirled about and ended up back in his arms, facing him. "I want you to try and ask yourself the same and tell me you don't think your cupid has made a mistake." He took her hand, placed it over her heart, just as she had done up on that rooftop on the night of the gala.

"He doesn't make mistakes... he never has...." She shook her head, unwilling to listen to her heart.

"There's always a first time." He put her forehead on hers and smiled, hoping she would stop being so stubborn.

"But..." She bit on her lower lip, staring right into his eyes. He knew it for sure right then. She loved him, just as much as he did.

"Ollie?"

He glanced over Felicity's head and saw Laurel's silhouette. She was standing on the other end of the road holding an umbrella.

"Go! Go to her, Oliver. If you don't go to her tonight, you might lose her forever. You will regret this decision forever. You'll hate me for showing up in your life. Because, you lost your soul mate because of me. I'll be gone one day and I don't want to live knowing you hate me." She put her hand on his chest and started to push him away.

"I could never hate you, Felicity. Don't do this..." He caught her hand and stood his ground.

She tugged her hand back "Go! I'm just an angel Oliver... Go to her." She began to cry, hiding her face in her hands.

"No! The only thing I'm going to be regretting, would be walking away from you." He pulled her closer to him by her arms.

He heard Laurel's footstep quickly fade off to somewhere faraway.

"I love you, Felicity." He gently moved her hands away from her face and kissed her soft lips. She moaned, kissing him back, banding her arms around his waist. She was _it_ for him, he had never been so sure about anything in his life. .

She pulled back, suddenly. "But, in another month, I will have to..."

He shut her up with another little peck on her lips. "Let's not worry about that now." He didn't want to think that there was an expiration date for them. He wanted to think they would somehow find away to stay together forever. Hope - he had hope now. He had her now. "Let's first get out of here before you get sick." He took his jacket off and draped it over both their heads, shielding them both from the rain.

"I'm not going to get sick." She sneezed just then and it was the cutest little sneeze he had ever heard.

"Ah ha... And, you were saying." He couldn't help but laugh at his angel.

"Oliver, I love you... infinite times more than I love mint chip ice cream." She giggled, draping her arms around his neck.

It was just the both of them there and it felt as if they would be safe from the darkness that usually followed him, if they just stay there - cooped up under his jacket, seeking shelter. And, if he wasn't so worried about her getting sick, he would have stayed there the whole night making out with her.

"I love you." He kissed her one more time, before wrapping an arm around her waist and guiding her towards the foundry.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Everyone!
> 
> Hope all your dreams and wishes come true this year!!!
> 
> And hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> So, there's no beta again. So, sorry for the mistakes.

Oliver kicked his shoes and socks off before throwing his shirt over his shoulder. “You done? Can I turn around now?” He regretted his decision to be so gentlemanly and stand with his back turned to Felicity while she changed her clothes. He tried to focus on the wall in front of him, instead of the sound of her wet clothes falling to the floor, but he was failing miserably. The knowledge that she was just few feet away from him and most probably sans clothes, was doing things to his body and to his control.

“Wait,” Felicity said and soon after, he heard the sound of a zipper being pulled up. “You can turn around now.” Her voice was so playful and sultry, it made him spin around to her instantly.

His eyes first caught the wet clothes on the floor, right in front of him - her pink underwear stacked on top of her green dress in a messy pile.

But, it didn't take long for his eyes to wander up the very bare and slender legs of the owner of that pile of wet clothes.

His blood rushed south at the sight of her. She was wrapped in _his_ hoodie - _his_ _green_ hoodie - _only_ _his_ _green_ hoodie. But, honestly, his body hadn't reacted that way solely because he knew she wasn't wearing anything under it or solely because, its hemline barely reached her mid thigh, giving him a good view of her creamy legs or solely because, she looked absolutely adorable and sexy with its too big sleeves hanging from her arms or solely because, of the simple fact that it was _his_ hoodie that she was adorning. It also had a lot to do with the fact that the woman he was so madly in love with, being aware of this side of his life - the green hoodie wearing vigilante side of him, the broken side of him and yet still accepting him with all his flaws and scars. She believed in him and had made him believe in himself - made him see the errors of his ways.

“How do I look?” she asked, pulling up the hood over her freshly toweled hair and he was rendered speechless.

Why did he ever suggest she wear his hooide? Why did he ever suggest they take things slow?

After confessing their feelings to one another, they had arrived at the foundry, kissing, stumbling over furniture and desperate hands tugging at each other's clothes. Yet, another sneeze from her and he had suggested that maybe she should change her clothes before she got sick, and that maybe they should take things a bit slow.

He had regretted saying those words as soon as they had come out of his mouth, but he had also known that he wanted Felicity’s first time to be special. The dark, cold foundry shouldn’t be the place where it all happened. She deserved to be treated like the angel she was, the woman she was.

Felicity had grumbled at first at his suggestion though - playing with the buttons on his shirt and waving her head in protest. Yet, when he had told her that she could wear his hoodie tonight, she had agreed after a few seconds of contemplation. But, still, she hadn't exactly looked ecstatic, when he had torn himself away from her to go fetch his hoodie.

However, now seeing her enveloped in the hoodie, he realized that it had been the dumbest suggestion he had ever made.

How was he supposed to keep his hands off her now, when his fingers itched to tug that zipper down - when his hands wanted to crawl under the hem of the hoodie and touch her slick folds - when he wanted to lift her up from her tiny waist and take her on that med table next to her, until she screamed his name out, repeatedly?

“Oliver?” She took a towel from the shelf beside her and waved it to get his attention. “You OK?” She sauntered forward, twirling the towel she had in her hand.

“Hmm... “  He stepped closer to her and met her half way. "Come 'ere." He took her gold chain out from his pocket and pushed the hood back before draping it over her head. The pendant fell upon the slope of her breasts, the chain getting itself tangled in the ends of her unkempt hair.

With gentle hands, he untangled the chain and flipped the pendant around.

The heart-shaped tracker stood for something else altogether now. It symbolized everything they had gone through to get to this point and how Felicity had indeed succeeded at not only gaining his trust, but owning his heart and soul.

 “Let me…” Standing on her tiptoes, she began to dry his hair coolly, seemingly unaware what the proximity was doing to him. “I don’t want you to get sick either.”

He could have told her that he had spent days in the rain without a shelter back when he was stranded on Li Yan Yu and that this was nothing to him. But, he didn’t. Because, it always felt nice to be taken care of by her this way. Lot more than nice, really.

“Thanks.” He mumbled, hands coming up to grab her by her waist. He could smell her now- that very familiar smell of strawberries and roses, which he had come to love so much.

“You’re welcome.” Giving him a small smile, she proceeded to slowly wipe his neck and bare chest with the towel.

He felt his pants grow tighter, with every tender swipe of her hand, with every breath he heard her take.

“Oliver…” Her hands stopped moving suddenly.

“Hmm?” He loved the way she said his name, as if those three syllables held more meaning than any other word in existence.

“I was thinking...” She looked up at him somewhat shyly, biting on her lower lip and eyes sparkling with hope and desire. “I don’t want to wait.”

His heart skipped a beat at her confession and he placed his hands on top of hers. “Felicity-” That’s all he could say as he ran his thumb over her full lips.

She hissed as if his touch had somehow burnt her. "I know you said you want it to be special. But, it’s already special to me because, it’s you. And I don’t care where we are… I just care it’s you.. And to be honest, I like it here...And time... we've wasted so much time.”

He wanted to not wait as much or maybe more than her, but he hadn’t wanted to rush her. He had wanted to make everything perfect for her. Yet, now, her words - they changed everything.

“Oliver... I want you.” Her eyes went shut and the wet towel slipped from her hand.

He cupped her precious face and leaned closer, stopping just a hairsbreadth away from her willing lips. “I love you, Felicity.” He kissed her, slightly nipping at her bottom lip.

She parted her lips and let their tongues dance in synchronicity, exploring each other in a way they had never dared to before. She tasted sweeter and more intoxicating than he remembered. He figured that it may have had something to do with fact that he no longer needed to hold back and he could kiss her freely, taste her freely now.

There were no secrets between them anymore. There was no guilt, no lies between them. They were not there kissing, because anyone thought they should be or because it made sense on paper, but because they were simply in love. If there was anything standing between them, it was just time and he didn't want to dwell on that elephant in the room. He just wanted to kiss her, make love to her tonight and forever.

"Hmm.." She moaned as he deepened the kiss  - left hand cradling her neck and the other pulling her closer towards him by her hips - the action causing their chests, their hips to crash against one another.

A groan escaped him when his growing erection brushed against her.

He slid one hand under the hem of the hoodie and groped her bare ass.

“Ahh!” As she whimpered into his mouth, he lifted her up easily.

She quickly wrapped her limbs around him. Her nails dug into his skin as his mouth dipped to her neck.

“God! ...Felicity...I’ve wanted to do this for so long…” Sucking on that sweet spot on her neck, he walked them over to the training mats at the corner of the foundry.

She made an oof sound when he gently laid her on top of the cold mats. "You alright?" He sat kneeling between her legs and from where he was, he could almost see her pink folds peeking out from under the green hemline of the hood.

"Ah ha." She timidly dragged the zipper of the hoodie down - slowly unraveling herself to him.

His hardened length twitched, as his eyes roamed over her - from her supple breasts, to her flat stomach and to the soft nub between her legs. She was gorgeous - blushing under his gaze, skin unscathed contrast to his, body untouched. And, no one may not have, ever even had the chance, the luxury to lay eyes on her naked form before him and that thought alone had him pouncing on her - engulfing her left breast into his mouth as he kneaded the other with his hand.

“Oliver!” Running her fingers through his hair, she spread her legs further and lifted her hips, crying for more friction.

He suckled on her nipple as he slipped a hand between their tangled bodies to touch her between her legs.

“Oh…Oh..” She was so sensitive to his touch and already wet for him.

He moved his finger teasingly up and down her slit, making her writhe beneath him with need - her back arching, pushing her breasts up into his mouth.

Her desperate hands grabbed on to his hair tightly than before, drawing him closer to her.

He stopped sucking on her nipple just to bring his hand up and lick her sweet juices his fingers had gathered. Staring into her full blown pupils, he swept her juices off with one long lick and he could see her desire multiply, feel her body seethe, as she stared back at him.

"Fuck!" He cried when he felt her unsure hands briefly graze his length over his pants, but sadly she had pulled away scared before he could revel in it. "No, it's OK... I'm... it's just felt so fucking amazing."

She blushed even harder at his words and he found her even more delectable, insatiable at that moment.

"So beautiful." Without another thought, he plunged forward to devour her mouth.  He could hear her soft moans as she tasted her own juices in his tongue and the sounds spurred him on.  He kissed her roughly, madly, his hands fondling her perky breasts and ass, greedily as ever.

Her body shuddered as he began to kiss his way down her neck, down the valley between her breasts, to her naval, until he finally reached her sex. His tongue darted out to lick his lips as he took a second to gaze at her slick opening - dripping with juices, all because of him.

Grabbing her thighs, he pushed her legs apart and licked up her folds. "Fu... udge!" She screamed and he couldn't stop grinning smugly as he lapped his tongue over her clit.

She called his name as he sucked on her clit and he glanced up at her from in between her legs to find her playing with her breasts - her hair fanned out messily upon the floor. 

"Please.. I want you.." She pleaded and he found himself unable to defy her.

He stood up and took out the condom he had in his pant pocket. He was no boy scout, but after what had almost happened that morning, he had been prepared. He had no clue how it would ever even come into play, but it seemed as if he had unbeknownst to himself had been hoping it would. "Are you sure Felicity?" He asked, and she had simply slid her arms out of the arm holes of the hoodie in reply.

She was now lying on top of the hoodie without a string of clothing on her -thighs glistening with her own wetness, nipples erected, chest heaving.

"It might hurt a little." Eyes set on her wet folds, he pulled his pants and boxers down. 

She gulped as his erection sprung free.

He couldn't wipe the wolfish grin that spread across his face at her wide eyed expression. "I will try to be as gentle as I can." He ripped the small packet of condom with his teeth and then rolled the latex on.

"OK.." She was touching herself, almost experimentally - her lower lip tucked between her teeth - her lust filled eyes roaming over his fully naked body.

He growled, seeing his angel Felicity playing with herself, looking at him. It awakened some kind of a primal emotion within him and he jumped on top of her.

He grasped her by her hips and positioned his length between her folds. 

"Ugh.." They both gasped, when he let the tip of his cock move up and down her entrance teasingly.

She closed her eyes as if to savor the moment and then looked up at him again as if to give him permission.

"Felicity, hold on to me tight." He whispered into her ear before thrusting his length into her.

"Agh!" Her cry was a mixture of pleasure and pain. However, the way that she held on to him - fingers digging into the muscles on his back,  told him that she didn't want him to stop. So he pushed deeper into her so very perfect tight hole.

"Oliver!" She rolled her hips to match him.

 Her soft breasts brushed against his chest as they moved together.

Grabbing her by her ass cheeks, he pushed her legs further apart and pounded harder and faster into her. "Oh.. fuck Felicity.. you're so perfect!" His mouth latched on to her right breast as she wrapped her limbs around him. 

He pulled out with a groan only to enter again with more force. 

Her walls began to clench around his cock and with one more thrust she came undone, biting on his shoulder.

Her head fell back to the mat mere seconds later - still panting, hands and legs still knotted around his body.

Groaning, and staring at her pretty face, he sought his own high - thrusting himself into her again and then again, until finally he reached his climax. 

With a loud gasp he flopped on top of her. 

He lay there for a few seconds, head between her breasts, until he regained his energy. "Are you OK?' He put his hands on either side of her waist and hoisted himself up to look at her.

Her eyes were hooded and looked thoroughly spent, but she was glowing. "Better than OK." She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes.

He slowly pulled out of her and she whimpered, almost inaudibly. 

"Better than chocolate mint chip ice cream?"  He asked as he rolled off from top of her.

"What's chocolate mint chip ice cream?" She feigned confusion.

He laughed. He really laughed. 

She too chuckled as she snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest. "I love you Oliver." She uttered softly.

He could never get bored of hearing her laugh or hearing her say those words to him. "Love you.." He heard her breathing even out after a while and he wrapped her arms around her trying not to think about what would become of them in a month.

* * *

 

 When Felicity opened her eyes, Oliver wasn't there beside her and she began to panic.

Had she just dreamt it all?

Yet, the hoodie that was lying rumpled near her feet, the warm spot next to her and the soreness between her legs told her that it couldn't have been a dream.

"Ah!" She shuddered feeling something crawling up her leg and she lifted her head up from the floor to see what it was.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

She found a still very naked Oliver, wiping off the stickiness between her thighs with a cloth.

"No.. I just... I just thought you left." She said groggily stretching her arms over her head.

She could see his Adam's apple bob up and down as his eyes raked over her. Only then, she remembered how naked she was and she quickly brought her hands down to cover her self - an arm over her chest and a hand over her sex.

She knew she was being silly. She was fully aware of what had happened between them last night. She knew, where his lips had been, what his tongue had done, how he had made love to her, but she just couldn't help herself.

Honestly, she didn't know what came over her last night. She had felt daring, desperate, nervous, excited, needy, and determined all at once.

Oliver had been right there, in front of her, shirtless and she had just wanted him. And, even though, Oliver didn't want to acknowledge that they didn't have much time left, she certainly couldn't just forget about it. So, she had told him what she wanted and why. However, she couldn't remember this many lights being turned on in the foundry, when they had made their way into the middle of the training mats.

And, now, she just felt - shy.

She didn't regret anything - not at all. She in fact, wouldn't have minded a repeat - right now. But, even admitting to herself that she wanted to have his length buried inside of her at this very moment, made her all strangely giddy, forcing her to shy away from his penetrating gaze.

She just felt shy about not being so shy. She couldn’t really make sense of it either, but she guessed this was just another one of those complicated human feelings.

"I just went to get cleaned up." Smiling at her, he pushed her hand away from her sex and continued to clean her. "And, Felicity you don't have to be embarrassed about anything. You're. .. remarkable." 

His words and the gentle gesture - the way he so carefully wiped her thighs, made her quiver. She was still sensitive down there and she wanted to straddle him, sink down into his length, just for being so gentle and caring with her. 

Ah.. she sighed mentally. That feeling was back. She was feeling daring again. She was feeling that need coursing through her veins again. She loved that feeling, she realized. And, the more she embraced that feeling the more she felt the shyness fade. She actually, began to feel empowered by her boldness.

"Done." After putting the cloth away, he laid back next to her, throwing a blanket over their naked bodies.

"Thank you." Without even thinking, she put his arms around him, tangling her feet between his legs.  This wasn't a new position for her. For the last couple of weeks or so, this position had sort of been the norm. Only except, neither had been naked then. But, she realized that this felt as innate or maybe more innate and comfortable than the clothed version of the same position.

"You're welcome." He draped an arm over her waist, tucking her to his side.

"I wish we could stay here like this forever." She meant it. She may have woken up a bit shy, but she knew what she wanted. She wanted him. She loved him. "Just the two of us." She added as she ran her index finger over the ragged edges of his scars. She loved every part of him, even his scars. They showed his journey, how he had become the man she fell in love with.

"Me too." He kissed the top of her head. 

"And, I'm really glad that Thea's plan didn't work." She felt a shiver run down her spine, remembering what had happened in that storeroom room. She remembered waiting. She remembered hoping. She remembered hoping for Oliver to come bursting through the door to tell her that he didn't want to breakup with her. And she also remembered her heart break, seeing Dean enter the room instead.

She remembered Dean's hands on her, lips on her neck and she remembered wanting to run - run to Oliver. But, she had been too stubborn, determined and maybe a little chicken to do that. How could she have run to the arms of the man who had agreed go through with the breakup plan? At that moment, Felicity had thought that Oliver had truly wanted a life with Laurel and he didn’t feel anything close to what she felt for him.

And, now, she was happy to know that she had been wrong about the whole thing.

"Now that I think about it.... It was a really horrible plan. Not that I'm complaining." His chest rumbled beneath her and she realized he was laughing.

"Well, don't tell Thea that." She pinched his side and she chuckled, when he yelled, "Ow!" in the most overly dramatic way imaginable.

"I don't think she will mind. After what Thea told me, I have a feeling, she never intended this plan to work. I think her plan was to make the plan fail." He replied playing with the ends of her hair.

"What?" 

"She was playing Cupid. But, I don't think she ever imagined that you'll sort of end up breaking up with me for real, in front of the whole club." 

"Oh?" It somehow made sense to her, when she replayed their conversations in her mind - how Thea had created more doubts about going through with the breakup, even as she handed her the breakup script. " _So, are you sure you can do this? Can you really say these lines? Say that you love him?" Thea had asked more than a few times throughout the day._

"Felicity. .." Oliver's low, coarse voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" Before she knew it, he had flipped her around, so that she was lying on her stomach. "Aah!"

He replied her surprised squeal by running his hands down her back and pressing his hardness against her thigh.

"Oliver... I want to tell you something." She moaned out.

"Hmm?" His hands froze on her waist.

"This morning ... I wasn't dreaming about another man. Actually,  I wasn't even sleeping." She confessed. 

"I wasn't asleep either, Felicity. You just assumed I was." He placed his lips on the small of her back and his hands on her butt cheeks. She hummed in satisfaction as he squeezed them roughly and she found herself spreading her legs and gently grinding her core against the mat beneath her.

"Really?" She barely managed to finish the one word question.

"Really." He mimicked her tone and bit her left butt cheek, making her yell out his name.

And she found herself yelling his name several more times, few moments later, when she came around his very talented fingers.

It was bliss - being with him and being in love with him.

Yet, as they once more rested, cuddled together, she kept thinking about the day, when she would have to leave. She couldn’t bare the thought of living without him. It wouldn't even be living.

She knew she could only hope that cupid would somehow find it in his heart to let her stay with Oliver.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi... Thanks for all the reviews and kudos. They encourage me to keep writing. 
> 
> I won't even give excuses for taking so long to update, because you guys are must be tired of hearing them.
> 
>  
> 
> So you'll get to learn about Felicity Smoak in this chapter.  
> After you read the chapter and if you start to wonder... Why did someone not remember someone, I'm going to tell you he sort of did on chapter 8. And if you start to wonder... did someone see someone five years ago, I'm going to tell you someone didn't turn around. (Hopefully this will make sense later.)
> 
> I'm still doing small changes. Nothing big. You can still read it. I just thought I shouldn't take more time to update.
> 
> No BETA again. Sorry about the errors.

**_Starling City, Queen Consolidated, Five Years Ago…._ **

  _"Well Done, Felicity Smoak, you just screwed up again.” Felicity muttered to herself as she walked out of the interview room._

_Joining the IT team at Queen Consolidated had been one of her dreams as long as she could remember. They were renowned for creating innovative software and hardware, and she had always believed that QC would be a great stepping stone for someone like her._

  _Before going into the interview she had been confident about her chances. Even one of her professors from MIT had told her that she would be a shoo-in. But, as she now exited the interview room, she knew that her lack of brain to mouth filter had just blown up, probably her only chance at getting a job at QC._

 _Perhaps, with the exception of Walter Steele, everyone else on the interview board had seemed unimpressed by her.  She could still see all their befuddled faces staring at her from the other side of the table as she went on and on about, how she had mistakenly eaten a piece of pot brownie during her college days. She was sure, she even heard one interviewer whisper, “_ Is she on something?” _to another member of the interview board._

 _It wasn’t their fault at all._ “ _Who in their right minds talked about eating pot brownies and their allergies in an interview, really?  Well, apparently you do Felicity Megan Smoak!” She cringed hearing herself answer back to herself.  “Great! And now I’m talking to myself. And, now I’m talking to myself about talking to myself! Great! Just great! ” Shaking her head, she walked along the corridor searching for a way out of the building._ _She didn't want to stay there for a second longer._   _She wanted to run home and wallow in her sorrows, while she finished what was left of her pint of chocolate mint chip ice cream._

_The ding of an elevator door opening made her move faster._

_As she turned the corner, a man appeared out of nowhere and she slammed straight into his broad chest. “Oof!” The impact sent Felicity toppling over someone’s foot - a very expensive looking stiletto to be exact and she fell to the cold cement floor, along with the owner of that particular shoe._

  _“Ahh!” They both yelled as the contents of their handbags spilled out and scattered about the floor._

  _Felicity’s pen drive rolled away out of her reach, while her phone glided along the floor until it hit the flower pot near the wall._

  _Grumbling in pain and shame, Felicity adjusted her crooked glasses and looked up._

 _The man she had bumped into was simply walking away without even offering a hand or an apology._ _His steps were heavy and stern. In fact, he walked as if he owned the damn building. “Jerk!” She muttered under her breath and the "jerk" stopped in his tracks for a second as though he had heard her. Yet, he never really turned around to look at her. He just barely glanced over his shoulder before continuing on his way._

  _If Felicity hadn’t been so annoyed by him, she would have probably taken a second to just admire, how good the man looked even from behind._ _“What do you know, chivalry really is dead!”  She commented instead as she grabbed her phone and shoved it into her bag - the louis-vuitton knock off, her mother had sent her from Las Vegas as an early birthday gift._

_"Fuck!" The brunette on the floor beside Felicity muttered a few choice words as she gathered her things and dropped them into her own bag - her very genuine looking louis-vuitton bag._

_“Sorry, he just came out of nowhere and-…” Felicity started to apologize, but the other woman cut her off._

  _“It’s fine.” The brunette got to her feet and climbed into the elevator, which was just about to close._ _From the small gap still left between the closing doors, Felicity caught her_ _flashing one of the most scornful smiles she had ever seen in her life._

_"Ugh!" Felicity rolled her eyes at the woman as the doors sealed shut._

  _"_ _I’m sorry about my friend. He’s having some problems with his girlfriend and he’s been acting like a jerk the whole week."_ _A man wearing a pair of squeaky clean leather shoes, stopped in front of her and lent his hand for her to stand up._

  _"He could have at least said sorry.” She lifted her eyes to look at the man, while she picked her pen drive up from the floor._

_Felicity gasped when she saw just who was trying to help her. “Oh .. oh! Wow!  You're Tommy Merlyn!” She wasn’t the kind of girl that was into gossip. However, Tommy Merlyn and his friend Oliver Queen was on the news almost every other day, she was sure she would have known about the duo, even if she had been living under a rock. They were famous for being rich, selfish, stupid and devilishly handsome._

_"And, if you’re Tommy Merlyn, that means your friend that I bumped into me must be...” Her eyes drifted to the man with blondish brown hair still walking away._

_Oliver Queen! She had bumped into Oliver Queen! The Oliver Queen! The heir to Queen Consolidated Oliver Queen! The broad shoulders, the cute butt - she could now recognize them all from the countless pictures she had seen of him on the tabloids. No wonder he walked as if he owned the damn building, she mused._

  _"You’re cute.” Tommy winked at her as he helped her onto her feet and she blushed realizing she must have said some, if not all of her thoughts out loud._

  _"Tommy!” Oliver called his friend with his back still turned to them._

  _"I have to go. As you can see, my friend isn't exactly in the best of moods.” Tommy ran after his friend, complaining to him about not letting him chat up the_ "Cute nerdy blonde girl".

 _She scoffed at Tommy's playful words with her eyes fixed on Oliver Queen’s back._ _For some reason, she so badly wanted him to turn around, just so that she could see his face. She wasn’t exactly sure why though, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know what the famous playboy billionaire looked like or it wasn't as if she couldn't remember his perfect jaw line and the dimples on his cheeks. And it wasn’t as if she expected or thought that one look at her and Oliver Queen would fall in love with her, like people did on those cheesy romantic TV movies. And, she most definitely would never want to be another notch in Oliver Queen’s belt._

_However, she had to admit that his presence had stirred something very primal within her. Something she had never felt towards any other man before._

_The confounding feeling and the way her heart raced for no good reason, began to annoy her to no end. This wasn't her._

  _But, with all that said, she still caught herself standing and staring at Oliver Queen’s back._

_She was afraid to analyze what any of it meant. In any case, she had far more important things to worry about - like the fact that she now probably would have to apply for that salesperson job at Tech Village._

_The elevator dinged again, breaking her out of her thoughts._

_Giving Oliver Queen one last look, she got in the elevator before the doors closed on her._

_She was relieved to see that there was no one inside the elevator. She needed a moment of peace after that horrible interview she had and her run in with Oliver Queen, which had admittedly left her feeling a little weak in the knees._

  _After pressing the button to the ground floor, she leaned back against the wall behind her. Her eyes tracked the numbers on the digital display above the doors as the usual boring elevator music played in the background. She had barely moved down three floors, when she once again began to wonder about Oliver Queen - his perfect posture, the shoulders, his short scruffy hair and the problems he was supposedly having with his girlfriend. “Stop thinking about him, Felicity!” She tried to get herself to focus on the numbers again. She tried to focus on the elevator music. But, whatever she did, thoughts of Oliver Queen kept popping up._

 

* * *

_**Present Day, Victoria Grand Hotel, Starling City, ...** _

The more Felicity gave her ear to the elevator music being played, more she felt strangely disconnected with the rest of the world. “Felicity, are you alright? You have been staring at that thing for a long time.” Oliver’s voice shook her awake from her stupor. Yet, she just couldn’t tear her eyes away from the floor number display in front of her.

 It hadn’t even been been 24 hours since they had gotten together, but ever since then - ever since this morning, she had found herself constantly lost in her own head. She kept blankly staring at inanimate objects and sometimes people, as though she was trying to remember something.

 Nothing really came to her though and she was sure there was in fact nothing _to_ remember. But, it kept happening. She kept trying to dig up something out from her brain that clearly didn’t exist.

 Did this have something to do with guilt? Was she feeling guilty for stealing another woman’s soul mate or was she simply scared of the penance she would now have to pay for trying to go against fate? 

 “And, you’re very quiet. And you’re very rarely quiet.” Oliver slowly turned her around to him from her elbow.

 “I don’t know. It’s just…” Tears started to fall for no reason at all.

 "Hey…” He drew her closer to him and cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

 "I don’t really know what’s wrong. I’m … I guess I’m really scared, Oliver...” She didn’t know how else to explain the bizarre feelings overtaking her.

 “Scared of what?” He gently wiped her tears away with his thumbs and stared into her eyes - carefully reading them to find out what had shaken her. “Is it about the time you and I have-“ He seemed as if he was struggling to even bring up the 30 day limit on their relationship, but still he soldiered on. “Felicity, I promise I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you or take you away from me. I will find a way. I've been reading... I've been reading about angels and cupids every time I can... to find a solution. " She had caught him reading something on his tab several times today, but she hadn't given much thought to it then. 

"And I will find a solution. I promise to you I will. I just wanted for you... for us to live at least 24 hours without worrying about the future.”  

 She could hear the desperation in his voice. He wanted to fight against what felt like their inevitable end, but at the same time he had wanted her to be happy and be able cherish their time together. She wasn't sure if it was possible, but at that moment she felt as if she was falling more in love with him.

 “If you want, we can go home.” He took a deep breath and kissed her forehead.  “I’ll call my mom and let her know, you are not feeling well and we won’t be able to attend the gala.” He hadn’t wanted to be there tonight anyway. It was Felicity, who had urged him. His mother had called him several times that that day, to remind him that his presence was required at the gala tonight. And, Felicity didn’t want Moira Queen to think Oliver was neglecting his duties as a son, because of his girlfriend - the one who made a huge scene in front of hundreds of people at his own club just the night before.

 “Felicity, let’s go and-” The elevator suddenly stopped moving and the doors slid open. They saw Moira standing across the lobby, near the entrance to the ballroom. 

 This was the first time Felicity was meeting Moira face to face after everything that had happened last night and she felt more uncomfortable than usual to be in the presence of the Queen Matriarch. Felicity didn’t know if she should say something to her about last night’s events now or if she should wait for a better time or if she should address the matter at all.

 Oliver put his arm around Felicity’s waist and leaned in. "We can still go home, if you want to...”

 “No, it's alright, Oliver." She stepped out of the elevator, pulling him along with her.

 "OK... But, if you want to leave at any moment... just say the word.” He placed a kiss on the side of her head and she sighed feeling safe in his arms as she always did.

 “I’m glad to see that you two have worked things out.” Moira offered Felicity a smile as she approached the two of them. However, there was a look in her eye that said that they would be having a long conversation very soon.

 “It was all just a big misunderstanding.” Oliver explained with a simple shrug of his shoulders and Moira nodded in return, giving almost nothing away about what she was actually thinking.

 “Moir... Mrs. Queen….. I… last night…. at the club... I was...”

Felicity’s rambles were cut short by Moira. “We’ll talk about all of this later dear, somewhere more private. There are too many paparazzi lurking around here tonight and after what happened last night, I’m sure all their eyes would be on the both of you." Moira had a fair point. Felicity had no doubt that those pests were somewhere, hiding, with their cameras ready to click.

"So, let's first go in, shall we?” Moira turned around and led the two of them towards the room, where the gala was being held.  

Oliver caught Felicity's hand and interlaced his fingers with hers as they entered the gala.

The first thing that grabbed Felicity's attention as they stepped in through the threshold were the colors used for the event. From the extravagant clothes to the decorations, from the tables to the chairs, everything was either red or black or a combination of both. Well, she shouldn't have been that surprised, as "Red and Black" was the theme of the party. Hence why Oliver was wearing his black tuxedo and she was wearing a very tightly fitted red dress. 

She had to hand it to Thea Queen for finding her a dress in such a short time. Since, Felicity hadn't thought she would be attending any galas with Oliver after she broke up with him, she had neither planned nor was prepared to attend this event. But, as always Thea had come to her rescue.

Felicity simply loved her new dress. Especially, its unique zipper that started from the side of her waist and went around her back before ending at the hem of the dress. From the way Oliver had glared at her earlier this evening, when he had first seen her in it, she had a feeling that Oliver may just love her dress much more than she did.

 “The QC PR Department thinks that you presenting the check today would both improve your image and help to show that there always will be a Queen at the helm of QC." Moira took out a check from her clutch and handed it to Oliver.

"I'm not sure how all that works, but I'm just glad that Glade Memorial is going to get a new wing, because of all this." Oliver said as he slipped the check into the pocket of his tuxedo jacket.

"You really have changed, haven't you?" Moira who seemed quite surprised by Oliver's statement, gave Felicity a strange look - something between a smile and a glare. "Anyway, I have to talk to Walter about something.  So, you two go and eat, drink, mingle...." She walked away in a hurry, looking for her husband. 

 “I’ll get you something to drink?” Oliver rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and her eyes closed automatically to his soothing touch. 

 “Something alcoholic.” She replied in a daze, her eyes slowly fluttering open.

 “Are you sure? I don’t think it’s a good idea, if you’re not feeling well.”

 “I think it might help me relax.” 

 ”OK then.” After giving her hand a little squeeze, he went to get her a drink.

She could see him turning around and looking at her time to time until she eventually lost him in the crowd. 

She knew he was just mere feets away, but she already missed him. 

She took few steps forward towards Oliver and stopped, feeling a little lost in the large and crowded ballroom.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she observed the people around her. There was lot of laughter and chatter around. All the blue bloods of Starling City seemed to have come there tonight, but Felicity doubted if anyone of them even knew which charity they were there to support. 

Felicity remembered the first time she had attended an even like this. She remembered the spilled wine, the ruined dress, the broken shoe and the heart shaped tracker - the one which still hung around her neck.

Twisting its chain between her fingers, she looked down at the pendant. She loved it now more than she ever did. _It showed their journey to love,_ she thought with a smile.

“Miss Smoak?” A man called her from behind, making her jump a little in surprise. It took her an extra second to realize that the man had called her by the wrong name and that she wasn't Miss Smoak - the bespectacled woman with a degree from MIT.

 “I think you may have mistaken me for someone else?” She turned around saying and a shiver ran down her spine at the sight of the dark haired man that had been standing behind her. She had never seen him before, but something about him told her to keep her distance from him.

 “Oh.. I’m sorry, you look like someone I used to know. Anyway, my name is Malcolm Merlyn.” He held his hand out for her to shake.

 “Ehm..Oh... You must be Tommy’s father. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Felicity Gilbert.” She glanced between the hand and his face for a while before putting her hand forward.

 “You have a beautiful name.” He kissed the back of her hand rather than shaking it.

Felicity pulled her hand back quickly, irked by the way how his lips lingered on her hand longer than necessary.  “Would you like to dance with me, Miss Gilbert?” He stepped into her personal space and she stepped back, averting his eyes.  His aura and his gaze disturbed her in a way she couldn't understand.

 “I’m... I....”

 “Malcolm?”

 “Oliver...” Relief washed over Felicity at the sound of Oliver's voice and she lifted her eyes in time to catch him standing behind Merlyn. Realizing that Oliver had foregone the champagne in favor of rescuing her from Malcolm Merlyn, she flashed him a grateful smile.

“I see you’ve met my girlfriend.”  Oliver positioned himself beside her - his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. 

“I see that you’ve given up running behind those floozies after you returned?” Merlyn eyed Felicity from head to toe and Oliver pulled her closer to him, as if to say ‘Mine’.

 “Yeah... Well… Since neither Tommy nor I had any good male role models, when we were growing up to tell us otherwise, we had to learn by trial and error methods. Speaking of, where’s Tommy?” The air in which Oliver spoke was very arrogant, very different to the Oliver Felicity knew - the real Oliver, the one that didn’t wear any masks.

“He must be somewhere around here… with your ex-girlfriend…. I mean the one and only Miss Lance.” It was clear that Malcolm was trying to get a reaction out of him.

 “Ah…” Oliver didn’t offer anything much to him. His expression was nonchalant as they came. “Malcolm, I hope you’ll excuse us. I want to dance with my girlfriend. This is her favorite song.”

 The slow song the string quartet was playing was definitely not Felicity’s favorite song. She had never even heard of it. But, she knew that Oliver was just trying to do away with Malcolm Merlyn. “Oh… yeah. I love this song.” She clapped her hands together to show her excitement over Oliver’s suggestion.

 “Excuse us.” Oliver led her into the middle of the dance floor - out of Malcolm Merlyn’s sight.

 He then took her right hand in his left and put his other hand a little above her waist. “Felicity, did Malcolm say something? You looked very uncomfortable out there.”

She placed her left hand on his shoulder. “He called me, Miss Smoak. I mean I know I look like her, but the way he said that name ... And then when he kissed my hand... it was really...” She expressed what she felt with a cringe. Because, there was no better way to explain the discomfiture she had felt.

 “He knows Felicity Smoak?” Oliver began to guide her around the floor to the sounds of the violins.

 "Apparently." She peeked over Oliver's shoulder just to make sure the creepy man wasn't somewhere close by staring at her. She knew one of the many reasons why she had felt so uncomfortable under Malcolm Merlyn's gaze had something to do with him calling her 'Miss Smoak'. She had felt a connection to the name, which she couldn't ignore.  Even though she failed to see what connection there could be between an angel an IT expert, a part of her felt that maybe Felicity Smoak could be the key to everything. “Oliver, don’t you think, it’s a bit strange that we both look a like and we have the same name?” 

 “Hmm... I've been thinking... Maybe we should try to find out more about this Felicity Smoak. Maybe it will somehow lead us to find a way to keep you here… on Earth, with me…. forever.” The implications of his words made her stomach flutter.

 “Yeah? Forever is a long time.” In that small moment as his arms came to band themselves around her waist and as she draped her arms around his neck she dared to think of a forever - a future beyond the 30 days they had left. A house, a pet, a dog and a cat, a child, No! children, two, may be even three. She could probably even go to school and learn more about his world - their world.

 “I know." He drew her closer to him. "I know what forever means Felicity.” 

 She felt the bulge in his pants against her stomach and she barely managed to respond.“OK good…. Uhm because, I really really don’t want to leave ever…or go home an elf.”

 “Wait! I thought you just have to leave after your three months are over?” He frowned.

 “No. You've got it all wrong. I think I told you this before too. This is my last chance to prove myself as a Cupid's angel. So, If I had managed to get you together with Laurel I would've been able to go home an angel. Since I obviously didn't manage that..." She chuckled at the last bit, "I  will have to return home an elf. Green might be a good color on you, but it’s not on me.”

His grip on her waist tightened. “I beg to differ. You look good in green, Felicity. Trust me."

She knew exactly what he was referring to. The way his eyes had darkened when she had walked up to him in his green hoodie hadn't gone unnoticed by her last night. “You wouldn’t be saying that after I become a green wearing elf with pointy ears. I mean, they’re really fun and friendly little creatures. But, I don’t think you’ll like me then.” 

Oliver gave her a cocky smile as he let his hands fall just a little lower on her waist. “Felicity, I’d love you no matter what… elf ears… or human ears.”  He leaned in closer and whispered into her ear - letting the tip of his tongue touch her ear lobe and his warm breath caress her skin in a way that made her body tremble with need.  

 “Oliver…we can't... there are people here.” Her breaths fell in short gasps as hot wetness began to build between her thighs.

They were no longer dancing to the music played by the string quartet, but to their own rhythm.  “Let’s go home?” He suckled on her neck ever so gently as they moved side to side on the same spot. 

 His voice, his lips made her almost give in to his request, but the change of song reminded her why they were there. “We can’t… Your mother... the check.” 

 “As soon as it’s done, we’re going home. I’m really curious to see how this zipper works.” His hand had already dropped to the zipper where it began, at the hem of her dress - right above her knee.   

 “Me too.” She admitted hiding her face in his chest, where she could hear his eager heart thump in the same speed as hers did.

 “Yeah?" He tugged the zipper open just a little and let his hand graze the newly revealed strip of skin on her leg.

 “Mmm hmm.” Her eyes went shut and she imagined how exactly Oliver would use the zipper later, in their bedroom.

"Mmm... Felicity.." Suddenly, she felt him slowly pulling away and she knew why. As much as he wanted not to think about their future for at least 24 hours, the expiration date was gnawing at him too.

"Tomorrow.." She assured, holding onto him tightly. Thirty days were 720 hours. They would find away before that. She was sure of it.

"Tomorrow..." He agreed capturing her lips in a tender kiss which made her shut her eyes and once again dream of the future she wanted them to have.

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Thanks for all the love!  
> I really wanted to end the flash backs in this chapter, but then I thought since there's not much character interaction and there's just Felicity in the flashbacks mostly. You guys might get bored. Anyway, hoping to finish the flash backs by next chapter.
> 
> No Beta. So, expect a lot of mistakes. I'm sorry about that.

_**A/N: Hi Everyone!**_ Here's the next chapter. Thanks so much for all the reviews, favorites and alerts. Hope you like this chapter. I really wanted to end the flash backs in this chapter, but then I thought since there's not much character interaction and there's just Felicity in the flashbacks mostly. You guys might get bored. Anyway, hoping to finish the flash backs by next chapter.

No Beta. So, expect a lot of mistakes. I'm sorry about that.

* * *

_**Five years ago...** _

_**Starling City, Felicity Smoak's Apartment.** _

_Felicity couldn't sleep. He didn't let her._

_Oliver Queen had invaded her dreams and was occupying her every waking thought._

_One meeting... No, it wasn't even a meeting and he hadn't_ _even looked her way, but she still couldn't stop thinking about him the whole day. She felt strangely connected to him and for the life of her she couldn't understand why._

_"Uhg!" Wiping her sleep deprived eyes with the back of her hands, she sat up on her bed._

_Since, it seemed as if she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight, she decided to work on the security program she had been trying to develop for the last few months._

_She grabbed her laptop from the nightstand and plugged in the pen drive._

_There were some important notes saved on the pen drive and she wanted to go over them before she did any changes to her program. However, when she tried to access the drive, a message popped up on the screen, prompting her for a password. The message box seemed vastly different to the one she usually would receive from the security program she had installed. So, she instantly pulled the pen drive out and examined it carefully._

_The drive in her hand most definitely wasn't hers. It was the same red, the same maker and the same size as her own, but if she remembered correctly, her one had a bit of her electric blue nail polish smeared on top._

_"Oh, no!" She knew it could only mean one thing. It must have somehow gotten swapped with the brunette's, who Felicity had bumped into at QC earlier that day._

_Part of her wanted to leave the pen drive alone, return it to the owner tomorrow and just get her own back. On the other hand, the bored and jobless hacker in her was itching to hack it and see what was in there. Just a little peek at what the brunette was so keen to keep protected, wouldn't hurt anyone, would it?_

_In any case, for all she knew, the brunette could be trying to crack her password and open her pen drive right now._

_After deliberating over the matter for a few more minutes, she decided to plug in the pen drive once again. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help herself. She liked the challenge and she hadn't faced one in a very long time. Anyway, it wasn't as if she was planning to blackmail the woman if she were to find anything bad on it._

_"Let's see what's in here. Porn? A secret plan to take over the world?" Laughing at her own words, she launched a few of her hacking tools._

_Within mere minutes she was able to gain access to the brunette's files and she pumped her fist up in the air in celebration. "They don't call me the 'Code Breaker' for nothing!"_

_She was about to close the folder, but stopped when she saw a strange map like diagram and a set of blueprints to some kind of a machine, she had never seen before._

_"Interesting..." Curiosity got the best of her and she went through the other files in the folder. They were mostly legal documents - contracts made between QC, Merlyn Global and some other not so well known organizations. But, most of them seemed to be shell corporations, which had some sort of connection or the other with Merlyn Global._

_There was something definitely dodgy about the documents, she could tell even as she skimmed over them._

_A little voice in her head reminded her that she probably shouldn't be looking at these, obviously confidential documents. So, she immediately closed everything and flopped back into her bed._

_She closed her eyes, trying to force herself to fall asleep. But, everything she saw on that pen drive began to swirl around in her head, as if to provoke her to figure out what they all meant._

_Mysteries had always bugged her. She could never rest until they were solved._

_"I really shouldn't be doing this." Yet, she did it anyway. She went through the documents and studied the blueprints. From what she could gather, it seemed that whoever the people the brunette was involved with, were trying to build a machine that could generate an artificial earthquake as strong as 10.5 on the Richter Scale. That was 1.0 higher than the most destructive earthquake ever recorded._

_She couldn't figure out what they were planning to do with it exactly, but she had a feeling whatever it was, it wasn't going to be something good._

_"What the hell have I stumbled onto?" She bit on her nails as she tried to figure out what she should do with information she found._

_Considering the scale of the project, she had no doubt that they were getting help from Starling City Police Department. Because, there was no way they were able to transport the equipment needed, without the aid of someone from the department._

_So, she wasn't sure who could be trusted with the information._

_She sat on her bed staring at the laptop screen for a while._

_She had to do something._

_Should she simply leak the information onto the Internet? But, if she did and even if she erased all the electronic tracks that could be traced back to her, the evil Earthquake machine makers would probably know she was behind it - since, she was the one with a degree from MIT and the pen drive containing confidential information._

_"Oh, God!" Were they already on their way? Could they be already planning how to bury her six feet under?_

_She grabbed her handbag, the pen drive, and the laptop and ran out of the house in her bunny slippers._

_She wasn't sure what the thought process behind her actions were, but before she knew it, she found herself, sitting in her car, on the street across the Queen Mansion at almost 2am._

_She stared at the tall gates that led to the mansion, trying to figure out what she was doing there._

_She had seen Robert and Moira Queen's signature on some of those documents she had found. Unknowingly or knowingly, the Queen family seemed to be involved in the earthquake machine project as well._

_So, what the hell was she doing there?_

_Her answer came in the form of a red Porsche - its roof pulled down and music blasting out from the speakers. Even from where she was, she recognized the man in the driver seat. Oliver Queen!_

_So, this was her big plan? She wanted to tell Oliver Queen_ _about the earthquake machine that could potentially destroy the whole city?_

_Her own actions made no sense to her. What had made her think, the playboy billionaire, who was famous for peeing on cop cars can be trusted with this information? What was it about him that had provoked her to drive all the way to the mansion, to tell him about the pen drive and its contents?_

_She didn't have any answers._

_Yet, in that moment, it just felt like it was the right thing to do. She felt as if he could be trusted._

_Her anxious hands struggled to get her seat belt unfastened. The very moment the latch came off, the young billionaire began to honk the horn to get the mansion gates opened._

_To Felicity, the continuous nagging beep of the horn, sounded like an alarm - one that was set off to make her rethink what she was about to do._

_Oliver Queen wouldn't understand her. He wouldn't give a damn about an earthquake machine. He may not even believe her. He would probably call her crazy and call the cops on her._

_She fastened the seat belt and sat back on her seat, tightly gripping the steering wheel._

_Maybe she was imagining it, but Oliver stopped sounding the horn and looked her way, as though he had somehow sensed her presence. It was impossible for him to see her though. The car was parked faraway in the shadows and she had made sure to turn off all the lights._

_Either way, not wanting to risk being spotted, she sunk into her seat and ducked her head a little._

_Once the mansion gates opened and his car disappeared behind the tall walls, she stepped on the pedal and got out of there quickly as possible._

_When she reached her place, she had this strange feeling that something was not quite right. Sure enough, when she stepped inside the house and turned the lights on she realized that her living room had been vandalized. Every bookshelf, every piece of furniture had been moved. Her books and magazines were all over the floor. Someone had definitely come for the pen drive, she realized._

_She didn't go in any further than the living room, afraid that they could still be hiding somewhere in the house._

_She ran out of her house and got back in her car._

_She had to find a safe place to stay. At least, until she found a way to get herself out of this mess._

 

* * *

 

_**Present day...** _

_**Starling Cilty, Queen Mansion** _

There was no place Felicity would rather be than where she was now – naked and warm in Oliver's arms.

Last night, as promised, Oliver had tested just how that very unique zipper on her red dress worked – pulling it open, gliding his hand under the dress, trailing a path up her leg before tugging her underwear down.

She grinned cheekily at the mere memory and lifted her head to sneak a glance at him. His face was always gentler when he slept. The worry between his eyes was gone and there was a slight uptick to his lips.

She kissed his chin softly and watched his smile grow wider. "Felicity..." He murmured as he fastened his arms around her in his sleep.

"I love you, Oliver Queen." She whispered, closing her eyes, hoping to fall back asleep, but the rumbling noises in her stomach made her open them again. It wasn't even 4am yet, but she was already hungry.

She carefully, untangled herself from Oliver's embrace, and slid off from the bed.

"Felicity...don't.." She heard him complain, ask her to come back to him - his hands searching for her.

"I'll be right back." She brushed his hair back and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Don't be long..." He groaned before settling back into his pillow.

For few seconds, she simply stood staring at him - marveling his strong, chiseled features, until her stomach rumbled again.

She didn't even think to search for her own clothes, she simply picked Oliver's dress shirt from the floor and slipped into it.

With one little push, she managed to open the door without making much noise.

She turned back and checked on Oliver one more time before tip toeing her way into the kitchen.

She felt that it was still a little too early for breakfast, but the perfect time for some chocolate mint chip ice cream. "It's never too early or too late for chocolate mint chip!" She sang as she opened the freezer door. "There you're!" She grabbed the ice cream tub with both her hands and pushed the freezer door with her elbow to close it.

"Felicity?" Moira Queen's voice startled her.

"Mrs. Queen!"

"I heard a noise and..."

"I was a little hungry... I'm sorry if I woke you, Mrs. Queen."

"That's alright. I've always been a light sleeper." The Queen Matriarch stepped closer to Felicity. Not even a single lock of Moira's hair was out of place. If not for the expensive night robe and slippers she wore, no one would've even guessed that she had just gotten out of bed.

On the other hand, Felicity was a complete contrast to the perfection which was Moira Queen. Her hair was falling messily over her shoulders and she was standing barefoot, wearing Oliver's crumpled shirt and nothing more.

"But... I..." Felicity crossed her legs hoping, it would somehow give the illusion that the shirt was longer than it was. "I should have been more careful." Her hands were slowly going numb from holding the ice cream, but she just stood there digging her fingers into the plastic container – unsure, whether she should put the ice cream back in the freezer and leave or stay and say something more.

"Felicity, you don't have to be so nervous around me dear. I know."

"You know?" She swallowed thickly.

What did Moira Queen know? The fact that the whole break up was meant to be fake and that Oliver was the one who was supposed to break up with her in front of everyone? Or the fact that she was an angel?

"Walter told me that you may have been a little embarrassed about your past and that could have been why you said that your last name was Gilbert and not Smoak."

Felicity shook her head, "No! No... Mrs. Queen it's not-"

"Walter assumes it has something to do with you growing up in Vegas. That's where you were brought up, right?"

It took Felicity a moment to understand what Moira was talking about. She opened her mouth to tell her she was wrong, but Moira didn't give her time to speak.

"I think I can understand what may have gone through your mind. You must have thought that I wouldn't approve... That I would think you're not good enough for my son... That, if I knew your real name, I would be able to easily dig into your past and find reasons as to why you shouldn't be with him. To be honest I probably would have... if I didn't hear with my own ears, how much you care about my son. I consider my self a good judge of character Felicity and I can see that you're a good person." She came even closer and Felicity held onto the pint of ice cream even more tightly.

"I can see my son has changed because of you... In a good way... So, whatever your family background is, I don't care. I don't care as long as you are honest with my son and as long as you truly love him. You do love him, don't you?"

"More than anything." She didn't even have to think to answer the question.

A wide smile spread across Moira's face. "That's good. But, I hope you won't betray my trust, because If you do..."

Felicity gulped. It was hard to say if Moira was just telling her or threatening her. Either way she was afraid to open her mouth.

"Goodnight Dear. And, like I told you the other day, you can call me Moira." She gave Felicity a little pat on her hand before walking way and Felicity let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

 

* * *

 

"Felicity?" Oliver looked around rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He faintly remembered her leaving the room, saying that she would come back quickly. But, it had been hours and she hadn't yet come back. Well, maybe not hours, more like minutes, but he was missing her.

He was just about to go and look for her, when he saw the door open.

"Hey... you are up?" She walked in wearing his shirt and carrying a bowl of ice cream - most probably chocolate mint chip.

There was always something about seeing her in his clothes that made his heart flutter and his lips quirk up. "I was going to come look for you." He sat up and rested against the headboard.

"I think I may have just had the most awkward and strangest conversation of my two month old life as a human being."

"With?" The lights were not switched on, but there was enough light for him to notice the crinkle between her eyes.

"Your mother." She passed him the bowl and crawled into the bed.

"Ah.. I should have known."

Taking the ice cream bowl back into her hands, Felicity sat on his lap - her back facing him. He put his arms around her and placed a gentle kiss on her neck, making her giggle.

"Mint chip?" She offered him a spoonful.

"Thanks." As he swallowed the ice cream, his mind wandered back to the night, when she first discovered ice cream and how she wouldn't let him have any. "So, what did my mom say to you?" he asked, smiling fondly at the angel in his arms.

"She thinks that I'm Felicity Smoak and that I've been keeping it a secret, because I was worried that she wouldn't approve of us, if she got to know who I really am." She scooped some more ice cream with her spoon and shoved it into her mouth.

"Oh?" He felt her body tense on top of him suddenly. "What's wrong? What are you thinking?"

"Your mom said something about Walter mentioning me growing up in Vegas and that it may have had something to do with me not being so honest about who I am. I mean not me...me.. Felicity Smoak." She put the ice cream bowl aside and looked up at him. "Do you think we should talk to Walter and see what else he might know about Felicity Smoak?"

"I'll talk to him today. And I'll ask Diggle to see if he can find anything about a Felicity Smoak in Vegas. It's the best lead we've gotten on her so far. And, I've been thinking about going to MIT. We might be able to find someone who knew or knows her."

"Do you think we would be able find her or her family in Vegas?" She began to draw meaningless patterns on his collar bone.

From the way her eyes tracked the movement of her own finger and from the way her lower lip drooped, he straight away knew she was worried about something. "Hey... What's wrong?" He caught her finger and slightly pulled it to force her to look at him again.

"I was just thinking... What kind of person could Felicity Smoak be? I know she's smart and educated, but.. I mean, did she have friends? What is her mother like? And her father... Does she like chocolate mint chip ice cream like me? You know..."

Oliver can see what was going through her mind. He could understand her. She was longing for a family, to have some kind of a past like every one around her did and to feel connected the world around her like everyone else did. And, he wanted to give it to her. He wanted to have it all with her – a family, children, a little girl with her smile, a little boy with her eyes, a white picket fence - everything.

"Felicity, you already have a family, Me... and... Thea, Dig. We're your family." He saw early signs of a smile tugging on the corners of her lips as she nodded at his words. "And despite how it may look like to you right now, I know even my mother cares a lot about you... I'm sure about that. She's just being you know... a Queen.. and.. a Mother."

Her face lit up even more. "Yeah?" She draped her hands around his neck as she straddled him.

"Yeah." He pulled her closer to him by her shirt collar and kissed her softly. "Hmm..." He felt her smile into the kiss and he promised himself that he would do everything in his power to keep her smiling, to keep her here on Earth with him forever.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone! Thanks for all the love! Hope you like this one.  
> Thanks to The Nerd Princess on tumblr for checking this chapter
> 
> IMPORTANT NOTE: Before it gets confusing, I wanted to say that some details about the undertaking and what happened to the Gambit is different in this story. MORE IMPORTANTLY *** Oliver has never seen Felicity before she dropped from the sky. He didn't turn around and look at her face when he bumped into her at QC. Only Tommy has seen her. He mentions remembering her in chapter 8 if my memory serves me right. But he doesn't know from where.***

**_Five Years Ago..._ **

**_A motel somewhere a few miles north of Starling City._ **

_For the last few hours, all Felicity had done was either peep through her window to see if anyone had followed her to the creepy motel she had decided to spend the night in, or try and erase whatever information available on her on the Interwebs. Whether they were just her high school records or her insurance records, she wanted all of it gone._

_She realized that her paranoia could very well be the result of watching too many movies where the quirky hacker died at the hands of the bad guy. Be that as it may, she didn't want to take a chance. The black SUV she thought had followed her until she entered the highway earlier in the night had only managed to add to her state of paranoia._

_A message popped up on her laptop with a 'ding' and she turned her attention to it. "Records deleted successfully from the QC HR Database" it read._

_She sat on the bed with her legs crossed and eagerly closed the message box to see if the records had indeed been removed as stated._

_"Agh!" She grumbled, seeing that some of the information hadn't been erased from the database. This was the 5th time she had attempted to delete her records from the QC servers without much success. Due to bad signal reception at the motel, her laptop kept getting disconnected from Internet and the QC servers kept telling her the records were deleted when they actually weren't._

_She started the whole deletion process all over again, hoping it would work this time around. "Sixth time's the charm, right?"_

_While she tried to re-establish a connection to the QC servers, she called her mother from the burner phone she'd bought on her way to the motel._

_She had to dial a couple of times before she managed to hear a dial tone, but within a few seconds she was redirected to her voicemail. "Hi, this is Donna. If you're hearing this message, I'm probably too busy having fun."_

_"Eh.. Mom, I just called to say… hi… and I … love you." She disconnected the call immediately afterwards._

_She had just wanted to hear her voice for some unexplainable reason. There had been no other purpose behind that call._

_She neither wanted to see her mother get tangled in the mess she was in, nor did she want to worry her. If her mother were to catch any wind of the trouble she was in, Felicity knew she would undoubtedly hop on the next plane to Starling City to check on her - which would make everything even more problematic. Because she had devised a plan to get herself out of this mess and it most definitely didn't involve her overcaring, overprotective, overreacting and over-everything mother._

_Donna Smoak probably wasn't as bad as Felicity sometimes made her out to be. She was just… well, her mother._

_Felicity's plan perhaps wasn't the most foolproof plan in the world, but it was the best she could do with the time she had._

_It consisted of travelling to Gotham using fake credit card details and a fake passport she had yet to make. She then planned to stay there for a few days until she came up with a safe way to relay the information she found to the relevant authorities._

_And, as a means of misdirection, she had already used her own credit card and passport to book a plain ticket from Starling City to Metropolis. She hoped the men who were responsible for vandalizing her home would take the bait and think that she was going to Metropolis tomorrow morning, so that she could travel to Gotham safely._

_However, for any of it to happen, she still had to make sure she survived the night._

_She scanned the locks on her windows and door from where she was to make sure they were all locked._

_The sudden beep sound coming from her laptop informed her she had managed to reconnect to the QC Database, and she quickly proceeded to delete the remaining info._

_"44%… 45%… 46%…" She counted as she watched the progress bar on the screen, willing the percentage to go up more quickly._

_"97%.. 98%... 99%... 100% Yes!" She cheered, but she knew she still had to make sure the records were completely deleted before actually celebrating her victory._

_"Such a hurry to delete your records from the QC database?"_

_Felicity screamed when she saw a masked man, dressed in black and standing before her, blocking the door. She wanted to get out of the bed and run, but her legs wouldn't move._

_"Stop screaming!" He drew his sword out and let his eyes wander over her for a second. "You look younger than you did on the QC security footage."_

_A shiver ran down her spine at his cold, ruthless voice._

_"And, I must thank you Miss Smoak. You just saved us some time by removing your data from the QC database yourself. Now, no one can link your disappearance back to us."_

_"Who are you? How … how did you get in here?"_

_"If I wanted you to know who I am, I wouldn't be wearing a mask now, would I? And, as for the answer for your second question; magic." The masked man mocked._

_"But for someone with your background in IT, I'm surprised it took you as long as it did to delete that security footage. In the time you erased it, we found out who you are and where you live. Although, for a second there, I thought you might've run home to your mommy in Vegas, but here you are." He walked around the bed to get closer to her, his sword still directed at her._

_She looked for something that could help her defend herself and grabbed the first thing her hand could reach, which happened to be her beloved laptop._

_"Don't come any closer!" She held the laptop up higher as if it were a shield._

_Adrenaline finally kicked in, giving her legs the energy she needed to make a run for it._

_"What are you going to do with that thing? Code me to death?" He simply laughed, pointing his sword at her chest._

_She didn't know where she got the courage from, but somehow she managed to throw the laptop at him, and then used the diversion to run towards the door._

_Behind her, she could hear him shred the electronic device with his sword. "Well, that wasn't very nice Felicity. You don't mind me calling you Felicity, do you?" He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her back into the room before she could unlock the door._

_"Let me go!"_

_"You know I can't do that." He pushed her against the wall and placed the sharp end of his sword on her throat. "Now, tell me where's the pen drive."_

_"It's in my bag. Take it and let me go!"_

_He grabbed her by her arm and dragged her along with him as he crossed the room to get the pen drive out of her handbag._

_She tried to wriggle out of his clasp, but the masked man just gripped her arm even harder. "I told Robert to not trust his mistress with this. I told him she'd use this to her advantage, but he didn't listen. Fortunately for us - but unfortunately for you - she bumped into you. Felicity Meghan Smoak, MIT class of '09." He mumbled as he dumped the pendrive into one of his pants pocket._

_"You got what you came for. Now let me go!"_

_"I'm sorry. I can't do that. You know more than you should know. If you didn't know what was in that pen drive, you wouldn't be hiding out in a motel in the middle of nowhere, erasing your past." He pressed the sword to her throat._

_" If you kill me you'll never know if I've already told about your secret project to anyone else."_

_"Don't lie to me Miss Smoak. I know you're too smart to talk about something like this to just anyone. Even if you have, I'd have ways to find who they were. I mean, I did manage to track you down to this despicable little motel, despite all your efforts."_

_"Let me guess, you used your magic to find me." She scoffed._

_"Quite the tongue you have there for someone who's about to die." He squeezed her face so tightly her jaws began to hurt._

_"No! Just let me go! I'll go to Vegas and I'll never come back here."_

_"I can't let you go home Felicity. " He let go of her face and wrapped his fingers around her throat tightly until she began to choke. "I can't let you go. Because you seem like the kind of person who would go out of their way to do the right thing."_

_She glared at him as he lifted her whole body by her throat._

_"Don't worry Miss Smoak… they won't find your rotting body in this horrible motel room. Actually they may not find your body ever."_

_She could see a pair of withered blue eyes under the mask - consumed by hatred and darkened with a madness she had never encountered before. "What are you going to do to me?"_

_He dropped his sword and threw her back on the bed._

_"You're going to go on a little boat ride to China, Felicity."_

_Before she had a chance to recover, the masked man covered her nose and mouth with a piece of cloth. "China?" The word came out as muffled noises as her world all of a sudden went black._

* * *

**_Present day, Las Vegas._ **

"Are you ok?" Oliver snatched her fidgeting hands to his larger ones as they entered _The Palazzo_ \- supposedly, one of the most famous luxury hotels in Las Vegas.

Looking at its grand interior, Felicity didn't question the reasons for its fame. However, something about the place made her quite anxious, made her head spin as her eyes wandered about the crowded lobby and the high ceilings.

"Yeah…I'm just-" She turned to Oliver to answer, but words failed her.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah."

Almost a week had passed since they had come to learn about where Felicity Smoak used to live. Unfortunately, Walter hadn't known much more about it than what he had told Moira. He had supposedly remembered reading it somewhere on her resume, but he wasn't able to remember any specific details.

Yet last night, they had gotten a new lead, courtesy of Lyla - Diggle's friend from ARGUS who was now also his girlfriend - a fairly new development Felicity hadn't known about until a couple of days ago.

After going through hundreds of medical records from hospitals in Vegas, Lyla had stumbled upon some information on a woman named Donna Smoak. Lyla suspected Donna Smoak - who at one point had worked at _The Palazzo_ as a cocktail waitress - to be the IT genius' mother.

So, here they were at _The Palazzo_ with a decade-old photograph of Donna Smoak.

"I have a good feeling about this, Felicity." Oliver reassured, squeezing her hands.

"But… if this… What if..." She stuttered, struggling to find words.

She felt this trip to Vegas could be their last hope.

Diggle had returned home from MIT with little to no information on Felicity Smoak. The professors that he had been able to track down hadn't known anything that could help them learn the current whereabouts of the blonde. They had simply raved about her brilliance and had described her dress sense as gothic.

"Everything will be alright." Oliver pulled her closer and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

" _G_ et a room!" Thea walked past them to the reception with Diggle.

"Why exactly did you invite Thea to come along with us on this trip?" Oliver chuckled, resting his head against Felicity's.

"She wanted to help?" She pouted.

"I think she's going to cause more trouble than actually help us." He kissed her forehead before putting an arm around her waist.

"My baby… is that really you? Oh my God, I can't believe it!" Someone pulled her from his arms and turned her around.

"Huh?"

A small blonde woman in a tight dress came from nowhere and wrapped her arms tightly around Felicity before she could get a good look at her. Felicity's first instinct was to pull away from the stranger, yet within seconds she found herself reciprocating the hug.

"My baby, where were you all these years?" The blonde woman pulled away, only to cup her cheeks with both her hands. Tears were streaming down her blue eyes, messing up her make up. "My psychic told me that I might have a chance to win the lottery today. I didn't think she meant that I'd be seeing my baby after all these years. I never gave up hope, Felicity. I never gave up."

Felicity stood startled at the resemblance the woman held to the picture of Donna Smoak. Other than the haircut and the few wrinkles on her face, the woman standing in front of her - squeezing her cheeks like a lemon - looked exactly like the woman in the photograph.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Please say something hun?" The blonde woman pleaded, but Felicity was too stunned to utter a word.

"Are you Donna Smoak?" Thankfully, Oliver stepped in.

"Yeah... I am. And you are...?" Donna replied, still holding onto Felicity as though she was afraid that she would somehow disappear. The warmth and the love Felicity saw in Donna's eyes overwhelmed her and she started to feel tears prickling in her own eyes.

"Oliver Queen. Felicity's boyfriend." Oliver introduced himself.

"Boyfriend? Felicity!" Donna squealed amidst her tears, grabbing the attention of people passing by.

"Uhm..." This was the first time Felicity had actually heard Oliver call himself her boyfriend, and it left her even more speechless.

"Felicity can't remember anything, Mrs Smoak."

Felicity's head snapped towards Oliver. Why wasn't he telling Donna Smoak the truth? What was he trying to do?

As if he had understood what was going through her mind, he nodded at her, mouthing a quiet ' _trust me'._

Felicity trusted Oliver wholeheartedly, but it didn't feel right to lie to a mother who hadn't seen her daughter in years apparently.

"What? Felicity, hun, what happened to you? But... you remember me, don't you baby?" Donna Smoak took her hands and held them protectively.

"Mrs. Smoak, I think it would be better if we talked somewhere more…private," Oliver suggested.

"My place is not that far from here. Maybe she will remember something when she sees the place? What… what do you think?"

Felicity felt guilty listening to Donna Smoak's hopeful voice. She wasn't Felicity Smoak. She wasn't her daughter.

But, then again, she didn't want to disappoint or break Donna smoak's heart either.

"Yeah… I'd like that."


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey every one!!! Here's the next chapter! Thanks for all you love and patience. 
> 
> I will get this checked my beta by next week. Hope you don't mind reading with lots of errors until then. 
> 
> I don't speak Spanish. So the small line in the story is from Google translator. 
> 
> ...............................................................................................................................................................................

**Chapter 24**

**_Five years ago…_ **

_Felicity woke up with a gasp, her head hitting against something solid and rough._

_“Ow!” Rubbing the growing bump on her head, she slowly looked around hoping everything she remembered happening last night — the whole ‘_ crazy masked man using chloroform on her to knock her out _’ thing —  was nothing but a ridiculous nightmare._

_She wasn’t that lucky, she quickly realized as she took in her surroundings._

_Not only had the masked man had knocked her out, and locked her up inside some kind of a wooden crate, he had also tied her hands and legs together with a rope._

_From the way her whole body ached, she guessed that she must have been locked up in there for hours._

_She peeked through the little crack between the wooden panels of the crate.  "Hello! Is anybody there?"  She couldn't see a soul, but she noticed few boxes and suitcases piled up, on top of one another in a cramped area with little to no light._

_The way in which the whole room swayed back and forth reminded her of the masked man’s last words._ “You're going to go on a little boat ride to China, Felicity."

_She put two and two together and figured out that she was most likely in a storeroom of a boat that was on its way to china._

_Upon hearing some voices coming from outside of the room, she began to kick, and hit the crate with her fists while calling for help.“Please, someone help me! Please! Hello! Can anyone hear me?”_

_No one opened the door._

_Either they couldn’t hear her or they were all working for the masked man, she thought._

  _Still, she kept shouting — probably for hours — until she was too tired to make any noise._

_Her mouth went dry, and her stomach began to rumble. She had no food or water. She had nothing, no one._

  _Although she knew she needed to keep her strength, and that crying would exhaust her, she broke down —  resting her head against the wooded panels behind her. She had never felt so hopeless. She had always been able to plan and come up with a solution, but now she didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t see a way out of there._

 _Exhaustion slowly pulled her into a restless sleep. She kept waking up and falling back asleep every few minutes, causing her to lose_ _track of time._

_She wasn't no longer sure if she had been in that crate for hours, days, weeks or months._

  _A shrilling sound similar to a bomb blast shook her awake. She felt the boat tilt unusually to her left, and she looked out through the little crack again. All the heavy luggage and boxes —  her one included —  began to tumble and slide towards the left wall._

  _“Someone help! What’s going on?! Someone help me!” As she hoped against hope for someone to come and rescue her, something large and heavy broke in through the door._

_A gush of water rushed in through the shattered door, and the tenacity of the wave dragged the crate she was in, out into the sea._

_As the crate floated fast and far away, sounds of rain and waves filled her ears._ _She panicked when she felt seawater creep into the box through the little holes on its floor._ _She tried to break out of her restraints again even though she knew it was futile._

 _Before long_ _, water was almost up to her waist, but she wasn’t ready to give up._ _She screamed for help, peeking out through the small gap between the panels._

  _It was dark and chaotic outside. She caught a glimpse of a sinking yacht few meters ahead of her. “Gambit” She just about manage to read the last part of the name written on it, as another wave took her further away from the scene._

  _Sound of a gunshot echoed in her ears, and she turned her attention to where it came from. Ocean water splashing in front of her, the darkness, the mist and the rain, didn’t give her a clear view of what was going on, yet she managed to make out a lifeboat floating few meters away from the yacht._

  _She saw a man on the boat, standing over an unmoving body. “Dad! No! You can’t die!” he cried._

_Even though she couldn’t really see well enough to understand what exactly had happened, her heart broke at the sound of his cries as he mourned the loss of his father,_

  _“Oliver!”  Why she cried out his name, or why she felt the man on the boat was Oliver Queen, boggled her mind. She hadn’t really heard Oliver say anything other than his friend’s name for her to recognize his voice, but she felt she hadn’t made a mistake. Especially, when he suddenly came up to the edge of the lifeboat as though he had heard her._

_She was well aware that he could be simply searching for someone else —  someone he had loved that he had lost to the rough sea, but she wanted to believe he was looking for her._

_“Oliver! Help me!” She cried as the water level inside the crate began to rise even higher._

_Sensing something hitting against the side of the crate, she glanced out through the wood panels on her right to find out what was going on._

_Her crate_ _seemed to have somehow gotten tangled up with the wreckage of the yacht and the weight seemed to be dragging her down under the sea faster than before._

  _She closed her eyes, realizing that this was it. This was her end. So many unrealized dreams, hopes, things she wished she could have said to her mother and her father, the family she never had, her soulmate she never met  —  she couldn’t stop thinking about all of it._

  _Her cracked lips burned as the salty water touched her lips. She lifted her head over the water and took a long gulp of air just before the crate submerged completely._

_Her tears were lost in the sea and her soft sobs were unheard as the box sank deeper and deeper into the ocean._

  _As the darkness of the deep sea swallowed her, she remembered his eyes— Oliver’s eyes, his face, his smile. She didn’t know why she felt as if her soul was crying out to him and his to her, but it did._

_She couldn’t ignore it. Even if she knew it was all in her mind. Even if it made no sense why she was thinking of a man she barely knew during the last moments of her life._

_Her tied hands reached out to him. "Oliver!"  His usually striking, playful eyes seemed lost and dark to her._

_She had to save him, she thought. She had to save him before the darkness consumed him._

_“Oliver.” She mumbled confusedly as his image dissolved into nothing._

_A bright white light surrounded her as she let out the last of the breath she had been holding._

* * *

**_Present day, Donna Smoak’s House, Las Vegas_ **

Everything Donna Smoak had told Felicity about her daughter and the dozens of photo albums she had laid out in front of her was starting to overwhelm her. She was glad that Oliver was sitting right next to her on the sofa, holding her hand or else she would have broken down into tears every time Donna had handed her a picture of Felicity Smoak, and told a story about her.

Donna Smoak clearly loved her daughter very much, and Felicity was touched to see it. Even if Donna might come across as a very carefree woman to some, it was evident from the stories that she had told them that her daughter meant everything to her.

From what Felicity gathered Donna’s husband had left the two of them when her daughter was very young, and ever since then, Donna seemed to have done everything she could do to make sure her daughter made better decisions and had a better life than her.

“When you were small you used to always complain that your hair wasn’t blonde like mine. You wanted to dress like me. Wear my shoes… clothes.” Sitting on the arm chair next to Felicity, Donna flipped the pages of her daughter’s baby album. Felicity Smoak to both Oliver and Felicity’s surprise hadn’t been a natural blonde. 

“Then when you hit those teen years… I don’t know what happened. It kind of felt like you wanted be as different from me as you possibly can.” Donna showed them a picture of daughter in her teen years. "I think it also had something to do with you being younger than all your peers. You were probably trying to prove something to them. I mean you were just 19 when you finished college and told me you've decided to settle down in Starling City."

Fiddling with the necklace around her neck, Felicity studied the picture closely. The dark haired Felicity Smoak looked sadder and angrier than the blonde haired girl with glasses _—_  whose photograph she had found in the computer while back. Her long, plush mane framed her pale face and she was dressed in black head to toe. 

“In your last year of college you dyed your hair blonde. You told me you’ll come and see me as soon as you found a place in Starling and settled down. I was so excited. I thought things could become the way they were before. But… then… ” Donna began to cry clutching to the picture of her daughter.

“I’m so sorry.” Felicity put her hand over Donna’s.

 “I’m ok now, baby. You’re here now.” Donna placed her other hand over Felicity's.

Felicity was aware how wrong it was to pretend to be someone who she wasn’t, but she was glad that she could make Donna happy even if it was just for a day.

“I’m sorry. I know this might not be the best time to ask you this — ” Oliver leaned forward on the sofa and turned towards Donna. “But, what… what did you think happened to her? … I mean five years ago? Felicity can’t really remember anything.”

 Donna kept the albums on the coffee table and took her phone out of her pocket. “There was a message…a voice message on my phone. You just called one night, and said that you loved me. I still have it saved on my phone.” She swiped her finger across the screen and played the recording for both of them to hear.

  _"Eh.. Mom, I just called to say… hi… and I … love you."_ A chill ran down Felicity’s spine as she listened to the recording over and over again as Donna let it play on a loop. It was astounding and also frightening to hear Felicity Smoak's voice. Given the fact that they looked identical she had always assumed their voices would be similar, but she hadn’t thought it would be exactly the same.

“Are you alright baby? Do you remember anything?” Donna cupped her face, and looked at her with her eyes filled with hope.

Felicity shook her head ‘no’. She was too shocked to speak.

 “I’m sorry. I got a little too excited. I know all of this must be too much for you to take in.” Donna stopped the voice message.

 “You alright?” Oliver kissed Felicity on the side of her head and she leaned closer to him. “We don’t have to do this now, if you don’t want to.”

 Felicity offered both of them a reassuring smile. “Hmm…I’m ok. I want to know. Please go on.” She urged Donna.

Donna put the phone away, and resumed with the story. “I tried calling you when I didn't hear from you again. You very rarely answered my phone. So I didn't think it wasn't that unusual at first. But after a couple of weeks, I started to get worried. So I went to Starling. I went to the address you gave me when you moved to Starling, but there was a someone else living there.... And they said, they haven’t heard of anyone by the name Felicity Smoak.”

“Didn’t you go to the police?” Oliver asked.

 “I did. SCPD couldn’t find anything about a Felicity Smoak except on a flight list to Las Vegas. The plane was supposed to leave Starling the day after Felicity left that voice message.”

 Donna took a deep breath and stared at one of Felicity’s photos on the coffee table. “They said that plane crashed few minutes after taking off because of a disturbance caused by an earthquake. According to the airline they didn’t have any records of Felicity boarding the plane. So because no one came looking for her they’d assumed she was never on the flight when it crashed.”

She pulled out a tissue from the box in front of her and dabbed the tears from her eyes, careful not to smudge her make up. “I remember seeing the crash on the news. They called the earthquake some kind of a phenomenon, because they couldn’t really find what caused it. Anyway, the airline offered me money. But I didn’t want it. I just wanted my baby back. And I never really felt like you were actually gone. I never gave up hoping and I wasn’t wrong.” She began to rub her eyes carelessly with the tissue this time. “I don’t care about this stupid make up really.” She said as she threw the wet tissue aside.

 Felicity gently wiped Donna’s cheeks with her hand. She felt bad for her. She wished she could help her find her daughter.

 “I’m so happy you’re back, Felicity.” It was when Donna ran her hand over Felicity’s cheeks and wiped her tears away that she realized that she too had been crying.

 “Me too, mom.” She mumbled, surprising even herself. The words didn’t feel like a lie. It felt right. She wondered whether it was because her yearning to have a mother, have a past or whether there was some other reason she couldn’t yet see.

 Donna pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you baby.” She cried on Felicity's shoulder for awhile and then moved away wiping her tears. “It’s pretty late. Why don’t you two stay here for the night? I’ll order your favorite pizza.”

 Felicity looked at the the cuckoo clock on the wall. It was already 8.45pm. She hadn’t even realized they had been there for so long. They had left Diggle and Thea at the hotel thinking they would be able to return within a couple of hours.

 “I haven’t changed Felicity’s room since she left for college. Maybe it might trigger some kind of memory?” Donna eagerly looked between the two of them.

 “I… I don’t know. Felicity?” Oliver tugged on her hand gently to know her opinion.

 “Uhm... yeah… I think… I’d like that.” She didn’t know what possessed her to say that. Maybe she was just  intrigued. Maybe there was a small part of her that wanted to be Felicity Smoak who had somehow lost all her memories.

 “Great! Let me show you two the room then.”

The Smoak household was small, but there was something very cozy and inviting about the place. The vibrant paintings and posters of old science fiction movies hanging on the walls gave it more personality.

“Felicity’s room is just around the corner.” Donna led them both through a small corridor and stopped in front of a door.

 _“Felicity Code-breaker Smoak”_ Felicity read the bright yellow and black name board on the door.

 “Here you go.” Donna pushed the door open, revealing a small and somewhat messy room. 

Movie posters covered one side of the wall while the other side of the wall was covered with certificates Felicity Smoak seemed to have won. Books and computer parts were everywhere, and there was a shelf in the corner of the room filled with trophies and medals. 

 “Your clothes are still there, hun. You can wear them if you want.”  Donna entered the room before them and opened the small wardrobe next to the trophy case. “I’m sorry Oliver.  I don’t think there’s anything here your size.” 

“It’s alright, Mrs. Smoak. I’ll manage.” Oliver replied as he stepped into the room with Felicity.

"Ok then. That's the bathroom. There's the AC and here's the remote for the AC." Donna switched the the Air Conditioner on as she gave them a tour of the small room.

 Felicity stopped in the middle and turned about, carefully studying the place. She couldn’t ignore the strange connection she felt towards every little thing she saw there.

“I’ll go, order you two pizza then.” Donna left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Are you ok?” Oliver put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around to him.

 “It feels really weird to see all those pictures of someone that looks exactly like me, but to know that it’s not me. And I… I don’t know why Oliver… maybe it’s because I really want to have a normal life… I just... I feel connected to her mom, this house... to this room, to everything.” Her head began to spin and she sat down on the bed behind her.

“Felicity? If it’s too much for you, we can go home.” Oliver crouched in front of her and took her hands into his.

“No, I want to stay… I think I’m just a little tired and overwhelmed.” She assured him.

 “If you feel like you want to go, just say the word, alright?”

 “I will.” She leaned forward and pecked his lips lightly.

 His eyes were still closed when she pulled away as though he was trying to burn the feel of the kiss into his memory. She had noticed him doing that often and she knew why. She knew because she did the same — because time was running out and they both wanted cherish every moment they spend together.

 She ran a finger over the dimple on his right cheek, making his lips tick upwards. “I guess I’ll go freshen up now.” She gave him another little kiss.

 “No…” He pouted like a baby and held on to her hand tightly so that she couldn’t get up. “One more.”  He pulled her down towards him and kissed her lovingly.

 “Come back quickly,” he said as he reluctantly let her go. ”On second thought, maybe I can join you?” 

 “I have a feeling that the bathroom is going to be too small for that.” She ruffled his hair before getting up.

"Felicity... Please..." He kept whining overly dramatically about how he could somehow squeeze into the bathroom with her, if she would just let him.

 Smiling at his antics, she grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from the closet, and went to the bathroom.

* * *

 Oliver fell into the tiny bed and let his eyes wander about the room.

Felicity Smoak seemed to have been a very interesting and a colorful person, he thought.

He wasn't surprised to see his Felicity so shaken by everything they had gotten to know about Felicity Smoak. Anyone in her position would have. In fact, he too was a little taken aback by all they had learned of her and the way she had disappeared.

What surprised him the most was, the connection he felt towards the genius. He felt as if he had known her his whole life, even though they had never met. He figured he was just confused because she looked and sounded exactly like the woman he loved —  the woman he wanted to marry someday — hopefully soon.

He fished for the ring box he had put in his pocket.

He had dropped it in there before getting ready to go to the airport that morning, just in case that perfect moment arrived. 

He carefully took the delicate diamond ring out of the box and watched it sparkle in his hand.

A few days ago, his mother had asked him to bring her a necklace from their family vault, and he had stumbled upon the ring by chance. From the moment he had laid his eyes on it, he had known it belonged on Felicity’s finger.

He put the empty box in his pocket, and read the inscription engraved inside the ring for the umpteenth time, _“Eres mi siempre_ ” [“You are my always”] He felt that those three Spanish words perfectly expressed how he felt about Felicity. 

“Oh.. I’m sorry.” Donna barged into the room, and stopped in her tracks when she saw him on the bed. “I probably should’ve knocked. I just wanted to know what type of pizza you wanted?”

 He tried to carefully slip the ring into his pocket before Donna noticed, but her eyes were too sharp. “Oh my God! Is that a ring? Are you going to — “

 “Shh... Mrs. Smoak.” He jumped out of the bed and guided her out of the room.

“Call me Donna, Oliver. I mean it looks like I’m going to be your mother-in-law very soon.” She whispered, just as he closed the door. “So tell me, how long have you been carrying that ring— that three carat, princess cut diamond ring on your pocket, and when are you going to propose to my daughter?”

He was impressed that she was able to assess the ring so easily and perfectly. He on the other hand, hadn’t had a clue how much it was worth or that it had belonged to his great grandmother from his mother’s side until Thea had caught him gazing at the ring last night. She had gone on and on about how perfect she thought his choice was and hadn't stopped until he promised to consider naming one of their kids after her.

“I just saw this ring in my family vault, and i just knew I want to see it on her finger soon.“ He mumbled once again imagining the ring on Felicity’s hand.

“Wait! Did you just say in your family vault? Are you some kind of a — Did you say your name was — Are you the heir to — Oh! Wow! My psychic did tell me that if Felicity is alive she would marry a very rich handsome guy!” Donna squealed clapping her hands together, finally realizing who he was.

“Mrs. Smoak... I mean Donna, I’d like to keep this a surprise.” He tried to calm her down.

“Of course. Of course. So when are you going to ask her?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure if this is the right time… with all of this.” He gestured at the Felicity’s Smoak’s name tag on the door. "I don't think she's ready." 

“Nonsense! I’m not saying that because I’m her mother. Anyone can see that she’s head over heels in love with you. She lights up like a Christmas tree whenever you are in the room.”

 He grinned, thinking about how _he_ felt when _she_ looked at him — happy, alive, loved.

“I don’t know you, but I can see that you’ve completely fallen for her. So why waste your time when you know this is what you want? I’m not telling you to propose tonight. I’m just saying, don’t wait too long. If what happened five years ago has taught me anything, it’s that you never really have all the time in the world, and that you have to tell the people you love how you feel about them before it’s too late.” She ran her hand over her daughter’s name on the closed door. “I better go and order that pizza before I get too emotional.”

“Just order me the same thing you’re ordering for Felicity. And thanks for the advice, Donna.”

 “You’re welcome.” She pat his arm as she walked away.

Gazing at the ring in his hand he opened the door. Just as he stepped into the bedroom Felicity came out of the bathroom — wearing a t-shirt that barely reached her mid thigh, and her hair hair wet and messy.

“Hey!” He quickly put the ring into his pocket before she saw it.

“The shorts didn’t fit. I think my butt is bigger than the teenage Felicity Smoak’s butt.” She whined, throwing the small piece of clothing on the bed.

 He walked over to her and slipped his hands under the hem of her t-shirt. He was pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. “I love your butt.” He cupped her butt cheeks and hauled her up. She giggled wrapping her legs and arms around him, snuggling her nose in his neck.

 “I love you.” He mumbled into her ear.

 She placed a feather light, almost teasing kiss on his lips and gazed into his eyes as she started to unbutton his shirt.

He knew that look in her eyes and what it meant. She wanted him inside her.

He felt himself getting hard at the mere thought. It had been more than twenty hours since they last had sex and he didn’t want to wait another second.  

He gently lowered them both to the bed before capturing her mouth in a searing kiss. She responded instantly, moaning, and parting her lips, caressing his tongue with hers. Her t-shirt rode up as his left hand slid up to grab her waist, and she lifted the t-shirt even higher exposing her breasts to him, letting them brush against his chest.

"Ah!" She gasped when his other hand reached down and touched her folds.

 “Hmm… you’re so wet.” he mumbled into her mouth, and she writhed beneath him as he began to gently rubher clit.

“Hmm.. mmm.. Ah… Oliver.”

He loved the little sounds she made whenever he pleased her. He loved the way her hips moved, the way she arched her back, pushing her breast forward.

"Felicity..." He engulfed her left breast into his mouth.

Her fingers ran through his hair as he swirled his tongue around her erect nipple. “Ahh! Stop!” Suddenly he felt her hand on his chest, trying to push him off of her.

“Felicity, what’s wrong?” He stopped everything and frowned at her. She looked so beautiful, adorable and edible lying beneath him with her cheeks flushed and lips swollen by the kiss. Sometimes he couldn’t believe someone like her — someone who was beautiful inside and out —  had chosen to be with a man like him.

She blinked as though she needed a second to recover. “I don’t think it’s nice for us to do this on a teenager’s bed.” Her voice was still affected by what they had been doing second ago, and it only helped in increasing the need he had to be inside of her, feel her walls tighten around his length.

“You really should have worn underwear then.” He rasped, sitting up, his eyes straying down to her glistening pink slit. 

“Believe me I wanted to. I was kind of glad when the shorts didn’t fit. Well, at first I was a little bummed out because I thought it would look really cute on me, but then… I thought the whole pant-less thing could lead to a fun night… you know?” She looked at him sheepishly. “ And now, with all these pictures of her around and knowing that her mother is in the house, it feels weird to me for some reason. I’m sorry.”

 He gently tugged the t-shirt down. He didn’t want to force her.

He pressed his lips on her temple, “No, it’s alright. I think I understand.”  he said as he settled beside her.

“Thank you for understanding. I love you.” She rolled around to face him.

“I love you more.” He said stealing a little kiss.

Making an adorable face she kissed his nose and got out of bed. “Where are you going?” He tried to grab her hand, but she was already out of reach.

“I’m going to find a pair of pants that fits. What if my mom — I mean Donna walks in... and also, I don't think It’s fair to you.”

“What? No! I’ll  keep my hands to myself.” he protested.

“Yeah, right.” She opened the closet and went through the clothes again.

He lain on his back so that he could easily view and enjoy the way Felicity's t-shirt barely fell over her ass, and admire how great her legs looked as she stood on her tiptoes to reach for something on the top shelf.

“Look at what I found!” She spun around, wearing a pair of black framed glasses.

He had gotten to his feet and was standing in front of her before he had even realized he had done it. There was something alluring about seeing Felicity wearing those glasses that he couldn’t quite point out.

“Oliver? Why are you looking at me like that?”

 He could hear and see Felicity asking him something, still he kept staring at her trying to understand what was it that he was feeling. He knew she was his Felicity, yet there was a different kind of a feeling bubbling inside of him now. It was as if he had just now seen a part of Felicity he hadn’t seen before and he wanted to know more about that part of her.

“Oliver?’ Felicity put her hand over his cheek, waking him up from his trance.

“Yeah?”

“Are you ok?” She stepped closer to him.

“The glasses.” He pointed at them. He didn’t know what else to say to her. How could he to explain to her what he was feeling when he couldn't understand it himself?

 “I .. look very much alike her don't I?… I feel ..I feel kind of different too. It’s actually a bit scary.” She took the glasses off, and stared behind his shoulder as though she had seen a ghost.

“You alright?” He looked behind to see what was it that she was staring at, and realized that it was just the Robin Hood poster on the wall.

 She put the glasses back on and took it off again. She repeated the process for several times before staring at him with a confused look on her face. “Is everything always this clear to you?” She put the glasses on and started reading the smaller prints on the poster out loud.

“Felicity? What are you doing?”

“Things are so much sharper with the glasses. I can read those small letters on the poster now from here.” She walked about the room experimenting with the glasses, reading things from different distances.

“What? You didn’t know all this time?” He followed her around the room. 

 “I just thought… I thought this was how everyone saw things.” She turned around, and took the glasses off.  

It now kind of made sense to him why she always seemed to miss the bull’s eye when she was learning how to shoot an arrow.

“Oliver, I’m scared. What do you think this means? Why can I see so well using her glasses?”

“Felicity — “ He took the glasses from her shaky hands and threw it onto the bed. “You know why I wanted you to act like Felicity Smoak in front of her mom?”

 “To learn everything we can about her?” She gazed up and he saw that what had happened with the glasses had disturbed immensely. Her face was pale as a sheet of paper and her brow was wrinkled with worry.

 He stroked her cheeks with the back of his hand and her features slowly relaxed. “Yes, to know more about her and — I told you I’ve been reading a lot about angels, right?"

She hummed a hesitant 'yes'.

"So in some cultures they believe that when someone dies their soul is taken by the gods and they are turned into angels. I thought you might — that coming here might —” He was afraid to voice out his thoughts. He was afraid that somehow saying it out loud would make it come true and he was wasn't sure what it would mean to their future if it did turn out to be that way.

 “You think… you think that… Do you think I’m her? Why didn't you tell me?” Her expression was a mixture of so many things — fear, confusion, hope, and disappointment.

 “I don’t know. I don’t know how these things work or if it any of it is even possible, but at this point I don’t have any other theories. I’m sorry I couldn’t talk to you about it sooner, it just occurred to me when we met Donna and how you reacted to her when you first saw her. I didn’t want to tell you and put too much pressure on you. “

 “Oh?” The disappointment on her face was so apparent at that moment, he decided he wasn’t ever going to keep anything from her for any reason again.

 “Are you angry with me for not telling you about it sooner?”

 “A little. I can understand why you did it, but you don’t have to always protect me like that.”

 He cupped her face and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

 She accepted his apology with a nod. “So what now? What does this mean?”

 “Maybe… maybe we should do a DNA test to check if your DNA matches Donna’s?” He suggested.

 “A DNA test? Like on that Talk that show when they used it to find out who the baby’s dad was?”

 “Yes.” He tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t stop himself.

 “What about the hair color? She’s not a natural blonde and I’ve never colored my hair. Ever. We couldn't be the same person.” She mumbled almost to herself, touching the ends of her hair.  

He had no idea how to answer her. He didn’t know much about DNA codes any way, but he knew that taking a DNA test could only help them at least find out if the two Felicitys were related in someway.

"But, whatever the results are I want to help Donna find her daughter. I want to know what happened to her.“

“We will.” He pulled her into a hug and she instantly wrapped her arms around him. 

"I love you." She suddenly started to chuckle.

"What? What's so funny?"

"I'm wondering, if I turn out to be Felicity Smoak and I died and became an angel, would that make me 24 or 19?" 

 He had always thought she must be young, but hadn't really thought she could be as young as 19. "I'm ... I'm .. I don't know."

"Firstly, this is only if I'm her. Secondly, I'm still legal either way. Thirdly, I don't think regular rules of aging apply when it come to angels turned humans." She said, probably sensing the worry in his voice. "And also, I have a strong feeling I'm not that young." 

"Really?"

"Aha." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him as if to prove her point.

 

 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry... I promised I would post it on Monday and it took me longer than I thought to finish the chapter.
> 
> I didn't beta it yet. But I will very soon. So expect a lot of mistakes sorry about that.
> 
> Thanks to the amazing VictoriaOlicity for the poster and the image I took inspiration from for Oliver's dream.

 

 

Oliver could barely see past the thick cloud of smoke as he navigated his way through the rubble on the fifth floor of Star City Bank.

He had already managed to hand over the madman behind the destruction over to the police, deactivate three other bombs he had set up and evacuate everyone in the building with Diggle’s help. But he hadn’t known about a fourth bomb.

When he had gone back to double check — to see if everyone was out of harm's way, the fourth one had gone off trapping him on the fifth floor of the building.

He knew Diggle was probably trying to find a way to help him, but at the same time he feared time might be running out. The flames were burning higher and stronger as each second passed, and he could no longer see a window or a door that could lead him to safety.

Yet he wasn’t ready to give up. He knew Felicity’s voice in his ear that kept telling him to come back home safely wouldn’t _let_ him give up.

_“Oliver, If you don’t come back alive, I’m going to yell at you in my loud voice.”_

“I’ll be home soon. Don’t worry.” It was no time to smile, but his Felicity had the ability make him smile even at the worst of times.

“ _Turn to your left, Oliver. According to the blueprints of the building you should be able to find an exit close by._ ”

“Got it.” Another smile — a wide proud one took over his features as he rolled across the floor to avoid a burning shelf from falling on top of him.

Not only had Felicity been instructing him on where to go, over the coms today, she had also been the one who had used the Internet to help him and Diggle find a way to deactivate the three bombs. Granted Diggle had told her the specifics of what to look for with regards to the explosives and had made sure she had the correct one before even touching a single wire on the bomb. However, for a beginner she had been very calm under pressure, and hadn’t taken too much time to find a solution to their problem.

She had been keen to learn how to use the computer to help him in his mission the few days — ever since they had returned from Vegas really. He didn't know what it meant. He didn’t know if her sudden increase in interest and ability had any connection to the IT genius Felicity Smoak or not. However, as intrigued as he was of her ability to quickly grasp anything related to IT, for the time being he didn’t want to think about why or how it was possible. She seemed to have truly come to enjoy being part of the team and he didn’t want to somehow take away that enjoyment and that sense of purpose she seemed to have found by bringing up Felicity Smoak.

Although in the beginning she had cracked jokes about she being the 19 year old Felicity Smoak, as days passed he realized jokes had just been a defense mechanism. She had just been trying to get over her anxiety through humor.  

Even getting immersed in all things IT related, at first had obviously been a means of distracting herself. Before she had fallen in love with the subject, it had been a way to keep her mind off the fact that it would take a several days to get the results of the DNA samples they had sent to ARGUS, and to know if she and Donna were related in someway.

They weren’t sure what they would find from the results and if any other facility could be trusted with them. So that was why they had sought Lyla’s help to do the DNA test. However, since the DNA tests were being carried out without the knowledge of Lyla’s superiors, she had told them that it would take a couple of extra days. They were alright with the delay since they wanted to make sure the results weren't somehow leaked to people that shouldn't know Felicity took a paternity test. News papers, tabloids would've been all over it if they somehow had gotten to know that Oliver Queen's new girlfriend did a paternity test. They probably would've tried to spin it to look like Felicity had a secret child in Vegas.

 _“Oliver, are you there? Are you alright?”_  

“Yeah, I’m fine.” As much as her voice gave him courage, and as happy he was to see her grow into a someone he could rely on in every aspect of his life,  it hurt him to know she was sitting in the foundry all alone, and probably biting her nails worrying over him.

 Another loud boom, and he was thrown off across the room. He yelled in pain when he landed on to a pile of burning rubble.

 _“Oliver what was that? Oliver!_ ”

“There was another bomb, Felicity.” Just as he was getting up, something heavy fell on top of his head knocking him back to the floor.

 _“Oliver! Oliver!”_  He heard her cry as his tired eyes slowly closed. All he could think about that moment was going back home to her, taking that ring out of his pocket and proposing to her.

Had he lost his chance now? Would she ever get to know he had wanted that?  

Despite Donna’s encouragement, every time he had gotten close to proposing to Felicity, he had been afraid that he would put unnecessary pressure on her. She had already been stressing out over the DNA test and over their failed attempts to uncover the secrets behind Felicity Smoak’s disappearance, he didn’t want to add to it.

 _“Oliver, please tell me you’re OK.”_ As he lay there half conscious, listening to her, as everything around him burnt to ashes, he was slowly pulled away from reality, and pushed into a world of fantasy.

 

* * *

_He was walking up the stairs of the Queen mansion, but the place looked colorful and bright than he ever remembered it to be.  “Felicity?” Calling her name as he headed towards his room felt like the most natural thing to do even though he had no idea what he was doing there._

_“Felicity ... You in here?” He whispered as he slowly pushed the bedroom door open. A feeling of belonging, a feeling of home overwhelmed him as he stepped into the room._

_The lights were dimmed, but he could see someone — most probably Felicity sleeping in his bed._

_He carefully stepped closer, trying not to wake her up. His heart stopped for a second, at what he saw on his bed._

_His angel Felicity was sleeping, cocooning a little angel baby with her wings. The pink bow on the tiny angel’s head told him that the baby was a girl— their baby girl. He didn’t need any more proof to know that the baby was his and Felicity’s other than the way the baby opened her eyes and cooed happily at him._

_“Hey there.” He tenderly touched her chubby pink cheeks with the back of his hand._

_She opened up her arms as though asking him to cuddle her, just like her mother was doing._

" _You’re back.” Felicity barely opened her eyes as she stretched her wings, and invited him to join them._

_For a second he wasn’t so sure if he should disturb the perfection — he wasn’t so sure if he would rather just stand and watch the two of them from afar while his heart swelled with love and happiness, or join in and actually immerse himself in it._

_“Oliver,” The way she said his name was enough incentive for him to make his mind up and get into bed._

_The moment he settled beside his daughter and put his arms around both of them, Felicity enfolded them all in her magnificent wings._

  _“I love you… Both of you.” She mumbled sleepily with her eyes closed._

_“I love you both too.” He leaned over and kissed Felicity’s cheek and the top of his baby angel’s head._

  _Five years ago he wouldn’t have ever dared to dream of something like this. He wouldn’t have ever thought to be a father. Now, he wanted this — marry her, to have a family with her, give her everything she wanted and needed — to love her and to be loved by her._

_He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He felt so loved, safe and relaxed as he lied under the shelter of her wings, and he wondered if she really was just a Cupid’s Angel and not a guardian angel sent to save his soul._

 

* * *

 

The feel of her fingers ghosting over his chest woke him up. “Felicity?” He found her standing next to the med table, treating the slight burns on his skin. She had decided to keep wearing Felicity Smoak’s glasses and it continued bring out a strange yearning within him he still couldn’t understand.

“Oliver!” Her hands stilled and she just stared at him as though she was too overwhelmed to react.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing her hand gently to break her out of her stupor.

Her eyes welled with tears. “I thought I lost you.”

Using her hand for support he sat up. “Hey, I’m alright. I’m here.”  He lifted her head so her eyes would meet, and soon as they did her tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Don’t cry, Felicity.” He didn’t know if there was anything he hated more than seeing her cry.

Without a warning she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You were knocked out for hours. Don’t ever do that again, Oliver!” She yelled at him, hitting him lightly on his shoulder amidst her crying.

“I’m sorry. I scared you.” He pulled back a little just to kiss the tears away from her cheeks. “I’m here now, and I’m OK.” He enjoyed seeing her blush deeper and her smile slowly return with each kiss.

 “Ahem!”

He was just about to taste her lips when Diggle cleared his throat and reminded him that they were not alone at the foundry.

"Hmm... yeah.. hey john." Embarrassed, Felicity quickly stepped away from him, and busied herself with the putting the medical supplies back into the container.

“Glad to see you’re OK, man.” His friend gave him a nod.

“I guess I have to thank you two for that.” He told Dig, and turned to look at Felicity to let her know how grateful and proud he was of her.

“Diggle was the one who went into the building to get you back.” She corrected him, biting her lower lip.

“But you did help us tonight, Felicity. A lot.” He heard Diggle say.

“Yeah, you did. And not just with disarming the bombs.” It was her voice and the thought of coming home to her that had given him courage — made him want to fight to stay alive.

“Thank you.” Although he hadn’t said all of it in words, she seemed to have understood what he meant.

"You're welcome." Right when he was about to reach for her hand once again, a phone began to ring somewhere in a distance. “That must be Thea.” Felicity ran off to answer the phone much to his disappointment.

“Your sister probably wants to know if you’re going to attend the QC annual ball tonight. She’s been trying to get a hold of you for the last hour.” His friend updated him.

“Shit! Mom let her help organize the whole thing this time. And she really wanted Felicity and me to be there. What time is it now?” He jumped down from the med table, his eyes focused on Felicity who was in the other end of the foundry still talking on the phone.

“You couldn’t possibly be thinking of going there right now?”

“I have to. Thea doesn’t know what went on today. She will think I just didn’t care enough to show up.”  

“OK, if you somehow manage to convince Felicity that you are well enough to go to the ball tonight,  and you do end up going, I hope you use the opportunity to finally pop the question.” Diggle whispered the last part eyeing Felicity.

“Dig, how did you— “

“You may have learned a lot of things in the last few years, but you don’t seemed to have learned how to be subtle when it comes someone you’re in love with.”

Diggle was right. Both his sister and Donna Smoak wouldn’t have caught him red handed with the ring if he had been anywhere close to subtle about it.

“I must have caught you checking your pocket for that ring about twenty times just this morning alone, and I’m not exaggerating.”

Oliver grinned nervously scratching the back of his head.

“Listen man, I’m don't know what to think about this whole Cupid's angel thing, and you also know I’ve had my reservations about Felicity … and you...  when she first came here. But I trust her now. Trust her enough to let her guide me in a mission. And I’ve come to care about her like my own sister. I mean how could anyone not care about her.”

 “Is this the ‘ _if you hurt my sister I’m going to break your legs’_ speech? I’m very familiar with it John.” Oliver shook his head smiling. It was true. All though Diggle may have never told Felicity it in words he could see that his friend genuinely cared about her. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if there was an epi pen in Diggle’s pocket too.

“No this is ‘ _I care about both of you and I hope you remember that we really don’t know what will happen in another two weeks_ ’ speech. I just mean don’t leave room for regrets.”

“You’re right Dig.” Tonight almost losing his life had put things more in perspective, and Diggle’s words only reaffirmed what he had been thinking.

He had to ask Felicity tonight no matter what.

As sure as he was about their love, he had to admit that he was still a little nervous that she would say ‘no’.  It was probable and understandable that she wouldn’t want to make a such a big commitment knowing that she might have to leave him very soon. But he hoped it wouldn’t be the case.

* * *

 

Saying ‘no’ to the Queen siblings apparently was something she was no longer capable of doing. Especially, when it came to the tall, handsome Queen wearing a suit, and right now walking with her towards the room where the QC party was being held.

Puppy dog eyes, little kisses on her nose from Oliver, and another call from Thea was all that had taken for Felicity to agree to momentarily forget about Oliver’s injuries, and go to the QC annual ball.

Even though she wasn’t really happy about attending the ball because of what happened to Oliver earlier, the past few days she had welcomed anything — from parties to dinners, to reading IT books, to keep her mind off the DNA test, and the fact she only had little more than two weeks left before Cupid came to take her back.

However, as she tried to distract herself she had discovered that she enjoyed being a real member of Oliver's vigilante team, and of cours learning about computers. Although she was nowhere as good as Felicity Smoak probably was, or good at certain aspects of computers like Diggle, Oliver or even Thea, she realized she was not so bad at the whole IT thing for a beginner. At least that was what Diggle had told her when he had first taught her how to use the GPS tracking system at the foundry.

Out of habit she tried to adjust her new glasses, only to realize she wasn't wearing them right now.

It was weird how quickly she had become accustomed to Felicity Smoak's glasses. She strangely felt more herself in them. They gave her some kind of a confidence she hadn’t felt before, and continuing to wear them she believed could have actually played a part in making her so interested in learning more about IT.  She didn’t know whether it meant there indeed was a connection to Felicity Smoak, or it was because she secretly wanted to there to be connection, or it was simply because now with her glasses on she could read the small letters on the computer much more easily.  Either way, she didn’t want to think much about it until she had those DNA results in her hand.

Even if in end they found out the IT Genius had nothing to do with her, Felicity wanted to know what happened to her for Donna Smoak’s sake and for her own sense of peace.

So the fact that they still knew nothing more about Felicity Smoak than they had known a few days ago gnawed at her everyday, just as much as the fact that they were no closer to finding a way for her to stay back on Earth than they had been weeks ago.

“Hey Felicity!” They found Roy and Thea standing near the bar.

“Hey!" Waving back at them she walked towards them with a smile. Even from where she was she could tell the Thea wasn't so happy that they were late to the party she helped organize, and as always Felicity wished she could tell her why they were actually late. She wished she could tell her that her brother had just risked his life to save a building full of people, and almost didn’t make it out alive.

“Roy.” Oliver acknowledged him with just a nod and Roy did the same.

“Glad you two finally decided to show up.” Thea glared.

“The streets were a little chaotic because of what happened at the bank today.” Felicity told her.

“It happened hours ago. I’m sure the traffic has cleared up by now.” ”Thea sighed, and shook her head. “Anyway, Ollie, are you done giving my boyfriend the stink eye? Because I really want to go and dance with him to this song.” She moved her head to rhythm of the jazzy song that was playing.

Oliver rolled his eyes at his sister. “Go ahead and enjoy, Speedy.”

“By the way Felicity, you look gorgeous tonight. I thought red was your color, but green suits you too.” Thea winked at her and whispered something to Oliver before dragging Roy away to the dance floor.

“What was all the whispering about?” Felicity asked as she watched Thea dance her way into the middle of the crowd with Roy.

Oliver just shrugged, but Felicity could tell the Queen siblings were definitely hiding something from her.

“Oliver... Felicity.” She turned around to Diggle's voice. He was panting as if he had run all the way to the hotel from his home and the furrow on his brow worried her.

“Dig? What are you doing here? Is everything alright? I thought you’re going on a date with Lyla?” Oliver seemed as surprised and concerned as she was of Diggle’s sudden appearance.

“Is there anywhere we could talk privately?” Diggle looked around the faces in the room to check if anyone was paying attention to them.

“Outside.” Oliver directed them both towards the exit on their left.

The door led them to a vacant, narrow passageway. “This way.” Under Oliver’s guidance they hurried through the corridor looking for a good place to talk.

“In here.” He opened a door to what looked like a storage room.

Felicity entered first and the other two followed her in. “I  know this probably isn't the right time, but you two did ask me to let you know straight away when I got the DNA results.”

“You got the results?” Felicity and Oliver asked in unison.

“Yes. Lyla’s friend was finally able to do it.” Diggle took out an envelope from his jacket and handed it over to Felicity. “I didn’t read it.”

 Her hesitant hand shook as she turned the envelope over, and stared at the ARGUS emblem at the top right hand corner. This was it. The only lead they had found so far that could potentially solve her problem.

“We can wait until we go home.” Oliver suggested.

“Yeah let’s wait. No! Let’s check it now. No! Let’s wait.” She pushed the envelope into Oliver’s hand.

“Ok.”

“Wait! I want to know now. Oliver, you open it!” She was too worried to read what it would say. What if she was Felicity Smoak? What would happen to her then? But, what if she wasn’t Felicity Smoak?

“It’s… it’s a match,”

Her head began to spin as those words replayed in her mind.

 So she was Felicity Smoak? Or was she just related to her?

”But, it says there’s something different in her DNA code. An anomaly — something they have never seen before.”

Felicity blinked as she tried to understand what all of that meant.

“Do you think someone did something to alter her DNA?” Diggle took the results into his hand and read it again himself.

“I don’t know. Maybe… or maybe it's because she’s an a— “

“I’m her, I died and I became an Angel.” If someone were to ask her how she came to that conclusion simply from the word 'anomaly' she wouldn’t have an answer, but it was as though that was all her heart had wanted to hear to know that she was Felicity Smoak who had died and become and angel.

What more proof would she need really? They shared the same name, had the same allergies, same problem with eye sight and her DNA matched with Donna Smoak's DNA.

“Fe-li-ci-ty” Oliver pulled her hand as though to stop her from saying what she was going to say next.

“Don't tell me that wasn't what you were going to say, Oliver. I'm her. I died and I came back an angel to get you together with Laurel. I was never meant to be here. In this world.” She had said it regardless of Oliver's tries.

 “Felicity, stop!”

 Suddenly the storeroom door opened with a creek and all of them turned around. “I’m sorry sir, but I need to get those plates.” A server was standing in the doorway looking at them confused -- probably wondering what Oliver Queen was doing there with his girlfriend, and bodyguard.

 “Oh.. ok..” They quickly got out of the room and headed back towards the ballroom.

 “I’m sorry Oliver. I probably shouldn’t have brought it here.” Diggle apologized as they walked.

“No Dig it’s fine. We wanted to know as soon as possible because we are running out of time.”Oliver assured.

“Is your girlfriend alright, Oliver?” She shuddered at Malcolm Merlyn’s voice that seemed to have come out of nowhere. She had only met the man once before, but for some reason she hadn’t forgotten the chilling tone of his voice.

She looked over her shoulder and saw him standing few feet behind them with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Frightened by his unnerving stare Felicity moved closer to Oliver. From the corner of her eye she saw Diggle move closer to her as if to protect her.

“Just a little tired of all the attention from the paps.” Oliver put his arm around her shoulder and tugged her closer to him protectively.

“Mr. Queen I came out here to tell you that your mother and sister were looking for you.” Diggle supplied a cover story.

 “I’m sorry Malcolm, we have to go.”

Malcolm simply smiled as they turned around, but as they walked back into the main ballroom they heard him following them closely.

While Diggle stayed behind near the door, Oliver maneuvered her through the crowd to get into the middle of the dance floor so that they were away from Malcolm’s prying eyes.

“Why do you sort of freeze whenever you see Malcolm?” He then took her hands and placed them on his shoulders before pulling her closer to him by her hips.

She closed her eyes and tried to understand why Malcolm Merlyn's mere presence was making her act like a frightened little animal, but she couldn't find an answer. “I… I don’t know.” She held onto Oliver bit more tightly as he moved with her to the music.

"Felicity, are you Ok? Tell me what you’re thinking, please.”

“I just feel… whatever my connection to Felicity Smoak is... everything seems to point at the fact that I don’t belong here… belong with — .”

“Felicity, Don’t!” He frowned at her. "I thought we’ve already had this discussion. " She felt his body tense and saw red hot anger slowly taking over the blue in his eyes at what she had almost said. “You belong here… with me. I belong with you.”

“Oliver…” A little happy noise escaped her lips, listening to him express his love to her so effortlessly. “But… but he’s going to take me away. I was never meant to be here.” No matter how much they love each other, this was the truth. It was inevitable. Cupid was going to come and take her away.

“Whether you're Felicity Smoak or not, I won’t let him take you. I will do whatever — _whatever_ it takes to keep you here... in this world.. with me.”

The love and the determination she heard in his voice and saw in his eyes brought tears to hers. She had no doubt Oliver would do everything in his power to stop Cupid from taking her, but that was another thing that scared her. Cupid was a immortal, a deity. He was probably one of the nicer, kinder ones, but still defying him wouldn’t be easy. And if Oliver somehow failed and she was taken away, she feared he would go down a dark path once again. He would deem himself a failure and could lose faith in himself and love.

No! How could she have let this happen? How could she have been so selfish. She should have thought about all of this before and walked away from him that night. She should have done what she was sent there to do.

“Felicity, stop thinking whatever you’re thinking right now!” He demanded drawing her out from her thoughts.

“But— “

He tugged her closer, and cut her off with a kiss. She sighed into it, feeling relaxed once again in his arms. All her fears, doubts slowly started to fade away with whatever magical power that kiss possessed. Where they were, who was watching, didn’t matter to her right then. All that mattered was he was there and kissing her.  “I love you Felicity.” He broke off the kiss and planted another soft one as she tried to catch her breath.

“I love you too, Oliver. So much.” She mumbled staring into his eyes.

“Felicity — “ Suddenly he let go of her and took a step back.

“What are you do— “

“Felicity, my whole world, my whole life changed the day you walked  —- _dropped_ into my life.” He corrected the last part with a smile and knelt on one knee.

Her heart stopped. The Music stopped. The guests collectively gasped when he took out a diamond ring out from his pocket, and moved away a little to give them both more space.

Was this what the Queen siblings had whispered about earlier?

“Your smile and you heart showed me how to be happy again, to live again, and how to love. You’re my light. My home.. You’re my soul mate, Felicity and I love you more than words can say. And nothing, no one, no god, no angel says can ever change that.”

“Oliver,” Overwhelmed couldn’t summarize what she felt. She might have fantasized more than a few times about what it would be like to to walk down the aisle wearing a wedding dress and see him waiting for her on the other end, but, she had never thought there was a chance for it to ever happen. Not with the limited time they had. Not with all the complications and barriers that stood in their way.

“Felicity, will you marry me?”

She nodded her head.

How could she say no to that proposal, to those eyes — sparkling with so much hope and love.

“Yes?” He asked as though he couldn’t believe she had agreed.

"Yes.” She knelt in front of him and held her hand out for him to slip the ring into her finger.

“I love you.” He whispered amidst the loud cheering. Both their hands shook with excitement as he slowly put the ring and gave her a kiss on her lips. There was a very distinct “Woo hoo!,” which Felicity was certain was Thea.

“Let’s go.” Oliver stood up, pulling her up with him by her hand.

“Where?”She felt as if she was floating and If he hadn’t pulled her into a hug right then, she wasn’t sure if she would have been able to keep standing.

“Home… To celebrate.” He kissed her cheek once and tugged her away by her hand towards the main door.

“But Thea — “ She looked back around searching for Thea who had been nagging her the whole day to come to the ball, but younger Queen was happily clapping urging her to run off with her brother.

“Thea won’t mind. In fact, she threatened me to propose to you tonight because she thought that’s a good dress to be proposed in, and I agree... obviously.”

“Oh? That really was what she was whispering about earlier?” She barely managed to catch a glimpse of  Diggle mouthing his congratulations as Oliver whisked her away out of the hotel.

“Mmm hmm…” He tightened the grip he had on her hand as people she had never seen or talked to before gave her their well wishes.

“Can we get some chocolate mint chip on our way?” She asked as Oliver called their driver to bring the car around to where they were.

He ended the call and spun her around so that she was standing facing him, the toes of her shoes touching the toes of his shoes.”Sure.” Wrapping his arms low on her waist, he rubbed her nose against hers. ”Anything you want.” He kissed her once again -- more languidly, lovingly, and she felt her heart thump loudly as his hands slowly dropped lower on her back.

She heard the sounds of cameras click and felt flashes go off around them, but she didn’t care. She just leaned towards him more and stood on her tiptoes with her lips parted, inviting his tongue to deepen the kiss.

"Mr. Queen. Your limo."

It was only when the valet informed them their limo had arrived that they broke the kiss.

Oliver opened the door for her to get in first.

“Can we, maybe get some twizzlers on the way too?” she asked, getting into the vehicle.

“Twizzlers?” He sat beside her and took her ringed hand into his.

“Yeah, I’ve been dying to try it out.”

“Ok.” He responded with that breathy amused chuckle she loved so much. “Actually, I think I can also think of a few ways how Twizzlers can be used in our celebration tonight.”

“Huh?” Without giving her an answer he kissed her, and it only took that first moment their lips touched for her to forget what she had just been talking about, to make her push all her doubts and fears about what would happen to them in a another few days time.

 


	26. Authors Note

Hi! Sorry this isn't an update.  I should have done this sooner. I'm not sure I'll be able to finish this story as I don't really enjoy the show anymore. I'm so sorry. If anyone wants to write their own story from this point onwards you can. Just let me know if you're and I'll link it here. I might write someday, (so I won't be handing over whatever I've written so far) but won't be fair to keep everyone waiting.

You all probably hate me now. But I truly am sorry.

Lots of people keep asking me to update so I thought this is the easiest way to let everyone know, since I don't really even login to AO3 these days I might not be able to reply to each comment one by one.

Thanks for being patient and thanks for reading and all the encouragement you've all given me. <3


	27. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being so patient and thanks for all the encouragement.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy and it's not too confusing. It's kind of long.
> 
> I didn't beta it. So beware of mistakes :D
> 
> Also this is for EmmaRose and SpiceMeg on twitter (I heard she would sell her wardrobe to see this made into a movie or something like that.) :<3 :D Hope I got the handles right.

Felicity kept biting her nails through out her ride up the elevator. To say that she was feeling nervous was an understatement. The mere thought of meeting Malocolm Merlyn alone in his office made her skin crawl, and she felt like screaming to get rid of the feeling.

 _“You shouldn't have gotten on the elevator. You should have listened to Oliver,_ She thought to herself staring at the Merlyn Globe logo on the elevator door.

She was starting to sweat, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was scared or because of the stupid turtle neck blouse she was wearing. “Ugh!” Grumbling she fixed the collar for the umpteenth time that day, and she yelped realizing her action had somehow caused her engagement ring to slip off her finger. She tried to grab it before it fell to the floor, but it escaped through her fingers, and fell near her feet with a clink. 

Taking some relief at the fact that at least there had been no paparazzi to capture that instance on their cameras, she quickly picked her ring up, and put it back on her finger. If they really had been there she was sure they would be already sending photographs of her to the tabloids saying, she threw the expensive Queen family heirloom away because she and Oliver were over.

But, honestly, she thought that it was weird her ring just fell off of her finger like that. She had been wearing it for almost a four days now, and it had never come off her finger so easily before. So she couldn't help but feel that it was a bad omen of sorts.

 _No.. No.. Don't think stupid things!_ Shaking her head, she leaned back against the elevator.

It was then she remembered there was still another passenger on the elevator with her. He was staring at her a little scared and confused, as if he thought she had lost her mind. It wasn't his fault. She probably did look it. She knew she wasn't doing a great job at hiding how nervous she truly was.

“Hey...” Flashing him an awkward smile, she twisted her ring around her finger to move the diamond to the center.

The man quickly looked away as if all this time he hadn't been staring at her.

 A quick glance at the display panel up on the door let her know she wasn't that far from her destination now, and it made her head spin even more. Closer she got to Malcolm's office, less confident she felt about successfully pulling off what she had planned. Because it wasn't going to be easy to play the part of an IT genius and dupe Malcolm Merlyn to find out what he knew about Felicity Smoak — about herself. Even though after seeing the DNA results she was certain that Felicity Smoak and herself were one and the same person, she had no memory of being her. She didn't have the same skill set or knowledge she had. So she knew she would be caught if Malcolm were to ask her any direct questions about whatever connection they shared or asked her anything related to computer programming. Sure she had been reading up on the subject lately, and she was good at grasping most concepts easily, but she was no IT genius yet.

 So she mentally went over whatever details she so far knew about Felicity Smoak, just in case they somehow came up in conversation. _“IT Genius. MIT class of 09. Mother's name is Donna Smoak... Father, Noah Smoak.”_ She repeated everything in her head until she heard the elevator bell ding at the 19th floor.

She felt even more anxious when she saw the other passenger step out of the elevator, since it only meant that she would be at Malcolm Merlyn's office in two more floors. She wondered what was it about Malcolm Merlyn that scared her so much. Was it just the way he stared at her? Was it because she believed he was someway connected to Felicity Smoak's vanishing — her own death? Or was it because he was the man in the mask that she'd been having nightmares about repeatedly for the last few days?

He had first appeared in her nightmares when she was at the hospital recovering from her allergic reaction to peanuts. Even though at the time she had tried to brush it away thinking it was just her imagination, she had never forgotten about it. As a matter of fact, she now suspected that it was more than just a fragment of her imagination. Especially since the masked man had appeared in her nightmares more constantly after the Annual QC ball four days ago, and her encounters with him had felt so real that it had shaken her to her core.

However she had an inkling it wasn't just the masked man himself or his identity that worried her. She knew that unmasking him might reveal things about herself that she wouldn't want to know..

What if she found out she was the villain in this story? What if she was involved in some kind of a crime? What if Felicity Smoak wasn't the kind of person she wanted to be?

Even though she could never imagine herself doing anything horrible to anyone, and she knew she wouldn't be an angel that if she had been involved in something dodgy, the unknown still scared her.

There were dangers in trying to find out truths that have been buried long time ago. All of what she may uncover might only help in further proving that she didn't deserve to be in Oliver's life or his world, and that was what scared her the most.

The elevator bell dinged again at the 21st floor and her heart stopped for a moment.

 _This was it_ , she thought. There was no turning back now. As much as the truth scared her, as much as Malcolm Merlyn scared her, she knew she needed to know the answers to her questions. She was either going to find out the truth today or going to get killed trying to find the truth. 

Throwing a little glance at the security cameras inside the elevator, she nervously stepped out into large open office space. The gray walls and furniture made the place seem gloomy and cold. Her eyes instantly focused on to the tall wooden doors at the other end of the room. The elaborate way the company logo was engraved into the wood told her that it had to be Malcolm's office. It looked too expensive and too well crafted to belong to anyone but the owner of the organization.

She fixed her glasses and steeled herself.  The reminder she was wearing a pair of glasses once worn by a genius or rather her once genius self, gave her a bit of confidence, and made her feel as if she could actually go through with her plan _._

_You can do this, Felicity!_

She hurried towards the office without stopping to see if there was anyone else around. The sound of her heels echoed as she walked across the granite floor, and she felt as if the next sound she was going to hear would be the sound of her losing her balance, and tumbling on to the floor.

 However, before anything of the sort could happen she heard a woman's voice behind her. “Excuse me, do you have an appointment to meet Mr. Merlyn?”

Felicity halted in her steps and slowly turned around.

She found a young blonde girl — who she assumed was Malcolm's secretary — sitting behind a desk, and glaring at her over her laptop screen.

“He's in a meeting right now. You can't meet him if you don't have an appointment.”

“I... I don't have an appointment.” Felicity straightened her glasses, and took a couple of tentative steps towards the girl.

“I'm sorry then you can't go in there.” The blonde directed her eyes towards the elevator as though asking her to leave.

“Tell Mr. Merlyn that Felicity is here to see him. I'm sure he won't mind.” Felicity tried to be calm and convincing as she could as she sat on one of the chairs in front of the secretary's desk.

The secretary didn't seem happy with her attitude. She threw her an annoyed look as she pressed the buttons on her phone to give Malcolm the message. “Sorry to interrupt Mr. Merlyn, but there's a Felicity here to see you.” She kept her eyes on Felicity all the while she listened to whatever her boss was telling her. It was as if the secretary thought she would just break the door, and barge into Malcom's office while she wasn't looking.

“He asked you to wait for few of minutes. He'll see you after his meeting. It will probably end around 1.30”. She informed right after her conversation with Malcom Merlyn ended.

Felicity checked her watch and beamed at the secretary. The little encounter with her had momentarily helped her forget about the fact that she was about to meet a man who made her cringe whenever he was near her. Yet when her eyes caught the sight of the Merlyn Globe logo — this time printed on every piece of stationary lying on the secretary's desk —she was once again reminded of why she was there.

Pushing back the hair clip she had pinned just behind her left ear, she turned her eyes to Malcolm's door. The nervous energy that was running through her body multiplied the longer she stared at the closed door, and she tapped her foot against the floor simply in the hopes of controlling it.

 “Oh my God! You're that Felicity!!”

Felicity almost jumped in her seat when the secretary started to squeal out of the blue.

“You are Oliver Queen's fiancée Felicity!!!” The young girl was gazing at her ring with adoration, and Felicity quickly put her hand down because she didn't want the anyone to think she was flaunting it.

“I'm so sorry, Mrs. Queen I didn't recognize you earlier. I saw that ring and I — ” Felicity couldn't help but smile at the fact she recognized who she was from the ring on her hand. The ring had been on the front pages of every tabloid around and there were probably more articles written on the heirloom than about either Oliver or her. So she wasn't surprised that the secretary recognized the ring.

 “I'm not Mrs. Queen...yet.” Felicity corrected smiling, but it brought up a few new question and some old ones that had been circling in her head for a while now.

 Should she use the Queen name or should she hyphenate if she was able to find more proof that she indeed was Felicity Smoak? And would the world accept her as Oliver Queen's wife and Moira Queen's daughter-in-law? Has she even done the right thing by saying 'yes' to Oliver's proposal?

The ring suddenly started to feel heavy on her hand, and she twisted it around on her finger as her mind wondered back to the night Oliver proposed.

 

* * *

 

  _In that moment she had been so swept away by his words, and the gesture itself that she had let herself forget all the reasons why she should not be wearing the ring. She had let herself forget that she might have to leave Oliver soon if they didn't find out away to keep her on Earth._

  _However, that night itself, as she lay naked beside him on their bed, doubts and fears she had pushed away had come swarming in again, and she had struggled to fall asleep. The confusing DNA results and the horrible nightmares featuring the masked man in black hadn't exactly helped her either._

_With the comforter barely wrapped around her body, she had sat up hoping to shake off those doubts out of her mind. She hadn't wanted those doubts to get in the way of her happiness, at least for the night._

_Unfortunately, things had only gotten worse as she sat there staring at the light that bounced off her ring._

_She had no idea where she would be in a few days. She had no clue what Cupid would do to her for not only failing to bring Oliver and Laurel together, but also falling in love with Oliver and agreeing to marry him. She had no idea how this would affect Oliver's life or if Cupid would punish him too for what she had failed to do. Consequences of what she had done could be far worse than her becoming a cute little elf in green._

_Nonetheless what she did know was that no punishment or pain would be greater than the pain of leaving Oliver, pain of listening to Cupid once again tell her that Laurel was Oliver's soulmate or the pain of seeing Oliver being punished by Cupid._

_As far as she knew Cupid was one of the more understanding deities, but she didn't know what maybe in store. That information wasn't available on her angels' rule book._

“ _Felicity, what's wrong?” Oliver had asked getting up, and taking her hands into his._

 “ _I'm scared, Oliver.” She had admitted without a second of hesitance._

“ _Of what?”_

“ _Of everything falling apart. Of losing you... Leaving you.” She had been holding those thoughts in for so long, she had been glad to share them with him, but as she watched worried lines form on his forehead she had wished she had just stayed quiet._

“ _You're not going to lose me, Felicity. And I'm not going to lose you either. I'm not going to let that happen.” He had lifted her hands and laid a gentle, reassuring kiss over her ring._

_“I know we only just got the DNA reports, but we don't have much time. We don't even know what happened to me — to Felicity Smoak. ” In most movies or in fairy tales the story usually ended when the prince asked the princess to marry him, but despite the fact Oliver had asked her to marry him their happy ending was still not secure, and she couldn't truly rest knowing that._

“ I _know, Felicity.” He had said running a hand over his stubble in frustration. She knew how hard it must be for him to not have found a solution yet. He was someone who didn't wait around to solve a problem. He usually reacted to everything quickly and impulsively. However, this problem was too unusual and out of the realm of his understanding that he had seemed so lost whenever talking about it._

“ _I don't like seeing you cry.”_

_She had only realized she had been crying when Oliver had cupped her face, and wiped her tears with his finger tips._

 “ _But —“_

“ _I'd fight Cupid if I have to Felicity. I won't let him take you.” He had said something along the same lines at the ball too, and the more he said it more afraid she became of his words becoming true._

“ _Oliver, please promise me you won't do anything like that.”_

_He had cast his eyes down, and had said nothing more. She hadn't been surprised to learn that he was unwilling to make that promise to her. He had been this way even before they were together too. That was who he was. He would always be willing sacrifice himself for the people he loved, but she couldn't let him sacrifice himself like that._

_Not for her._

_So, she had thought she should do something to make sure Oliver wouldn't do anything that would put his life at risk._

_“Maybe I should go meet Malcolm Merlyn.”_

“ _You what? Why?”_

“ _I want to know how he knows Felicity Smoak, and if he knows anything about her... mydeath.” She had stuttered out the last bit. It was strange to talk about herself as if she had already died._

“ _No! You're not going! What if he really is involved? What if he tries to hurt you ?” Oliver had grabbed her hands as though he feared she would walk out of the door right at that instant to meet Malcolm Merlyn._

 “ _I need to take this risk.” She had been determined. She had seen no better way to confirm her identity, and find out how her possible death may have happened other than going to him._

“ _It's an unnecessary risk!”_

 “ _We have no other leads, no other choice Oliver.”_

_He had leaned closer and taken her face into his hands again, “I'm not going to let you take this risk. If he's connected to all of this in someway, I don't want you to go anywhere near him.”_

“ _Oliver, we don't – “_

_“We'll find another way." His eyes had pleaded her to listen to him._

_The clock ticking in the background had kept reminding her how little time they had, but she hadn't wanted to argue with him over this that night. For all she knew in a few days time she would have to go, and she couldn't let him have a bitter memory of them fighting tangled to the night they got engaged. “Ok... we'll find another way.” She wanted to believe they could — hopefully before time ran out on them._

“ _Thank you.” He had let out a sigh of relief before tugging her closer by the locket hanging down her neck._ “ _I love you, Felicity and I'm not going to let anything happen to you.” He had promised again, pressing his lips softly against hers._

_She had closed her eyes, and let the kiss help her forget her worries that night, but she had known that there was no escaping reality, and those worries and fears would continue to pester her until they found some kind of a resolve._

* * *

 

“Miss Felicity, Mr. Merlyn will see you now.” The secretary's voice made Felicity look up.

Three middle aged gentlemen were leaving Malcolm's office talking among themselves, and Felicity assumed that whatever meeting Malcolm was having in his office had probably come to an end.

“Thank you.” Felicity got up ironing out her skirt with her hand, and flashed the secretary a friendly smile before heading towards Merlyn's office.

Determined as she was to find out the truth her feet froze right in front of the door.

So many things could go wrong. In fact so many things had already gone wrong, but this was her last hope. This was the only remaining lead they hadn't yet explored and she prayed that it would somehow help her or at least push her in the right direction to find the answers she was looking for.

After taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and stepped into his office. The walls in his office were the same gray it had been in the lobby, and the modern black furniture only added to its joyless atmosphere.

 She cleared her throat when she spotted Malcolm Merlyn sitting behind his desk, with his back turned to her and facing the large abstract painting hanging on the wall. even though there were no clear figure on the painting, the color combination and the shapes that were used made it look as if there was something evil hiding within it. 

“So, should I call you Miss Felicity or Miss Gilbert?” Malcolm turned around, repeatedly clicking the small button on the retractable pen he had on his hand.

“Call me Miss Smoak. There's no reason to pretend in front of you, is it?” Asking to be called, Miss Smoak felt more than right, and She was glad she had somewhat prepared to answer this question as so, or else she was sure she wouldn't have been able to reply so confidently.

Smiling cockily at her, Malcolm put the pen away. “That is true. I do know who you are, but what I don't know is what you're doing here.” His eyes scanned her head to toe as he gestured at the chair in front of him.“ Please take a seat, Miss Smoak.” 

“I'm here to make a deal with you.” She sat with her arms crossed, feeling a bit awkward at the way he was looking at her.

 “A deal? What kind of a deal?” He sat back in his chair with his eyebrows raised.

 “You seem surprised, Mr Merlyn.” Her plan was to talk to him in away that would provoke him to unknowingly divulge whatever he knew about Felicity Smoak. However, She knew it wouldn't be easy to manipulate a businessman like him. Nonetheless the idea that she was Felicity Smoak the IT genius gave her the strength to keep her head high and speak with the billionaire businessman as though she was his equal.

“I'm actually more surprised to see you here in my office after what happened five years ago, but I am very keen to find out about this deal you want to make with me.” His tone was mocking, yet the growing creases on his forehead gave away the fact that he was starting to worry.

 “I want two million dollars.” she said, her eyes straying to the security cameras set up in all four corners of the room.

“For what? You have nothing against me. I made sure of that.”

She smiled, feeling as if she had made some kind of a stride towards her goal. From the way he was phrasing things, she was sure that she, Felicity Smoak had to have had some incriminating evidence against Merlyn, and she wondered if that was what had gotten herself killed.

“Maybe you weren't that successful. I mean if you were so confident about it you wouldn't have two of your men following me around for the last couple of days.” She had been so scared the first time she had noticed his men following her around, but honestly it had also made her more curious about everything.

“Do whatever you want. I'm not going to pay you a dime. My lawyers will sort out everything.” He replied smugly.

“I think you're forgetting I'm from Vegas, Mr Merlyn. I can call a bluff when I see it. I can see that you really don't believe that your lawyers can save you this time.” She had heard someone say similar lines in a movie once, but she had no idea she could be so quick on her feet, and respond this way. It felt as if the situation was bringing out a side of her she didn't even know she had.

“And I think you're forgetting what I'm capable of doing.”

“You have no idea what I'm capable of doing either.” Though she may have sounded arrogant and appeared confident, internally she was praying that Merlyn wasn't able to see through her.

“Well, to be honest, I _am_ kind of curious about how you managed to survive.” With every word he said, Felicity was becoming more and more convinced that Malcolm Merlyn had played a hand in Felicity Smoak's death.

“So, I'll tell you what, I'll give you the money, and in return you'll tell me how you survived and hand over everything you have on me.”

“You can buy my silence, but I won't hand over anything.” She carefully chose her words to make sure he wouldn't catch on to the fact she knew nothing, and had nothing to bargain with.

“Don't get too smart with me, Miss Smoak.” He stood up, and stepped towards her.

She felt a very familiar fear take over her as she realized how akin the sounds of his footsteps were to the masked man from her nightmares. 

“Alright, three million dollars and I'll hand over everything.” She pretended to be calm while her frightened little heart pounded fast. If anything was giving away how nervous she was she knew it had to be how she was rubbing her index against her thumb, just like Oliver sometimes did. She seemed to have somehow picked up his habit.

“Alright. I can't just write you a check for three million dollars without raising suspicion. However, I have other means of getting you the money."

Malcolm began to circle her chair, and she reminded herself of the few self defense maneuvers Diggle had taught her couple of days ago. ' _Be aware of your surroundings. Use the attackers strength against him.'_ She replayed Diggle's advice in her head, and thought if she were to even feel Malcolm was about to touch her she would do what she had practiced.

"But You'll have to go for a little ride to the Glades with me to get it. Are you up for that Miss Smoak? ”

“Tell me when and where. I'll be there.” She was hungry  for answers, but she wasn't as stupid as to agree to get in a car with Malcolm Merlyn.

“No, you won't. Because I'll be taking you there myself.”

 Before she could even react or move her hand to defend herself like Diggle had taught her, he pressed something onto the back of her neck. She whipped her head around to see what it was, and saw Malcolm standing beside her twirling his pen between his fingers.

“What did you – ”

It took her a moment to realize, what had just happened. The pen wasn't really a pen. He seemed to have injected something into her using it. 

 Fearing the worst, her hand went to her neck where she felt a slight sting.

“Relax. Don't worry it won't kill you. It will just make you unconscious.”

She tried to pull herself up from the chair, but her legs were already numb. “No! No!” This wasn't how her plan was supposed to go.

“Where are you taking me?” She mumbled when she felt herself being lifted from the chair. Her vision turned blurry, but she had enough awareness of her surroundings to know that Merlyn was taking her into what appeared to be a secret elevator hidden behind that abstract painting on the wall.

“I have big surprise in store for you,”

Was he going to kill her? Was he going to hurt her? Would she be able to see Oliver again? Was this how he killed Felicity Smoak – killed _her_ the first time around?

“Oliver!” Tears streamed down her cheeks as her eyes involuntarily closed. Oliver had warned her something like this could happen, but she had been too stubborn and too eager.

“Oliver...help me.” She cried, as darkness took over and she got lost in dreams and memories.

 

* * *

 

“ _Felicity?” Oliver had come stomping into the foundry, throwing his bow onto one of the tables closer to the entrance._

_After their discussion the night before Oliver had decided to go meet Malcolm Merlyn himself —not as Oliver Queen, but as the Hood._

  _She hadn't been on board with the idea at first. Malcolm had known Oliver since the day he was born. He could easily recognize that the man under the hood was none other than Oliver Queen. Even if he couldn't recognize Oliver's face, she had worried that he would wonder what relation the Hood could have to Felicity Smoak for him to break into his mansion at night to threaten him to answer about the IT genius's disappearance. Malcolm Merlyn was a conniving businessman from what she had heard. So she doubted it would take him much to connect the dots, and realize that Oliver Queen who was engaged to Felicity Smoak's lookalike was actually the Hood._

  _However, Oliver had insisted, and Diggle too had been convinced that this was the safest way to get the information they needed out of Malcolm. So she had very reluctantly agreed, and stayed in the foundry while Oliver and Diggle went on the mission to find the truth about Malcolm's relationship with Felicity Smoak._

  _She had listened in on everything through her headphones. However, things had gotten so chaotic over at the Merlyn Mansion at one point that she hadn't been able to make out what was going on._

“ _Oliver, what happened out there? You ok?” She had run up to him and wrapped her arms around his large frame._

“ _He got away before I could get any answers out of him. I'm sorry, Felicity.” Wrapping his arms around her he had kissed her forehead._

 “ _Malcolm is more than what we I thought he was. He can fight. I mean really fight.” Diggle had said, stepping down the staircase._

“ _This is why I think I should go.” She had taken a step back to look at Oliver, and she hadn't been surprised to find him staring back at her with his eyebrows knitted together in worry._

” _Felicity, didn't you hear what Diggle just said?”_

 “ _I heard him. But you and I both know I'd have a better chance at getting answers out of him because I look like her... Because I probably am her.” There had been no guarantee that whatever answers the Hood might be able to coax out of Merlyn would be the truth, but there was more of a guarantee that she'd be able to coax something more truthful out of him if she were to play her cards right._

 “ _No! I thought we had this discussion last night. It's too dangerous.”_

“ _I won't be completely alone. You both can keep in contact with me over the com-links.”_

“ _So you're essentially asking to be used as bait?” Diggled hadn't sounded so approving of her plan either._

“ _I can't and I won't let you be bait. I'll try again tomorrow.” Oliver had stepped closer and put his gloved hand on her cheek in a tender gesture._

_Leaning her head to the warmth of his hand, she had covered his hand with hers._

“ _Oliver, what if he escapes again? What if he finds out who you are? Honestly, for all we know he already has and he could already be planning ways to hurt you. I mean you going back there again is more of a risk now than before...Now that he knows the Hood is looking for him, he could be better prepared.” She had hoped he would understand why she didn't want him to do go there again._ “So  _I think me going there is our best bet. And If we don't do something quickly I have a feeling Malcolm is going to do something to make things worse.” Earlier in the day when she'd gone for shopping at Thea's insistence, she had felt as if she was being watched, and when she had turned around she had seen two men in almost identical black suits eyeing her from a distance. She hadn't been so sure about it to worry Oliver with it, but she had no doubt if someone truly had been following her —someone other than a paparazzi — they had to be sent by Malcolm Merlyn._

 “ _You are not going to meet him, Felicity and that's final! I'm not going to let you risk your life.” The note of finality in his tone frustrated her. It's not that she didn't understand why he was saying what he was saying, but she felt as if she should have more of a say on what kind of a risk she should take or not take._

“ _I don't want you to risk your life for me either, but you do it anyways.” She'd argued, throwing him a challenging glare._

 “ _My answer is still a no!” He had glared back, nostrils flaring and breathing hard._

“ _Guys, maybe you both should talk about this later, when you're both not – “_

“ _No, Dig! There's no time for a later. Before we know it, my time will be up and I'd have to go.” She had winced even at the thought of leaving, but it was the truth, and at this point it seemed inevitable._

  _She had expected him to shout out a 'no' yet again, but this time he had said nothing. He had just kept staring at her, his jaws ticking and eyes burning with anger._

“ _I'm going to do this whether you like it or not.” She had said stubbornly before storming past him towards the exit. She had to do this. The hunger to find out the truth, the need to stay, the need to know who she really was or who she was supposed to be, and the need to make sure Oliver didn't go back there again, were urging her to march up to Malcolm Merlyn's office and demand answers._

 

* * *

 

“Wake up, Miss Smoak! Nap time is over.” Malcolm Merlyn's grating voice and the feel of his cold hand on the back of her neck brought her back to reality. She wanted to open her eyes to see where exactly he had taken her. Alas her eyes were still too heavy with sleep. She couldn't keep them opened long enough to make out anything much. However, the cold breeze that brushed against her skin, the slight saltiness she tasted on her lips, and rhythmic sounds of water she heard in the background, told her that that she was probably somewhere in the middle of the ocean _._

“Let me go!” The words had come out in a weak mumble than a demand. The affects of whatever drug he had injected her with hadn't yet completely worn off.

Laughing at her mockingly he pushed her to the ground. The hardwood floor beneath her felt cold and wet as she tried to slide away from him, but she quickly realized she couldn't. Her hands and feet were tied up too tightly for her to move.

 Was he going to kill her and throw her into the sea? Or was he going to abandon her there, in the middle of nowhere?

“Trying to run away?” Malcolm's cruel laughter cut through the percussion of the sea.

“Someone will notice I'm gone and – “

“By someone do you mean your fiancé Oliver? Or would you prefer if I call him the Hood?”

She froze in shock.

He knew! He knew Oliver's secret!He could now blackmail him. He could simply walk into a police station and expose him. He could destroy his family, the Queen name and his whole life with this one secret.

“You know if he had never shown up at my Mansion asking about Felicity Smoak, I'd have never guessed that Oliver Queen could be the Hood. And I wouldn't have been ready to do any of this.”

She forced her heavy eyelids open. Her lenses were too foggy for her to discern anything much of her surroundings, but she could see Malcolm Merlyn's dark figure standing in front of the setting sun. She didn't know she'd been unconscious for so long until then, and she knew it only meant that he had taken her very far into the sea. Possibly somewhere no other ships were, somewhere no one could find her.

“He won't be able to help you now. He's not going to find you. Not out here.” He circled her as if he was a hunter admiring the prey he had just managed to put down.

“Where are we? What are you going to do to me?” With some effort she sat up. She hoped to find something that could help her escape, but she saw nothing but an empty deck and miles and miles of sea through the murky lenses of her glasses.

 The situation felt all too familiar, and she was sure she wasn't having some strange De ja vu moment.

She felt her death had to be someway connected to the sea. 

“Same place I took you to last time.” Malcolm's words confirmed her fears.

He pulled out something out of his jacket before crouching next to her. It was when she felt him run the cold barrel of a gun along her jaw line she realized what exactly he had taken out.

She tried to move her face away, but the gun followed her.

“I'm going to do the same thing I did to you the last time. Except this time I'm going to shoot you before I dump you into the sea. I don't know how you survived last time, but I'm going to make sure you stay dead this time around.”

As she listened to Malcolm's remorseless confession her mind floated to a distant, unknown time. She saw visions of the masked man threatening her in some kind of a motel room. She saw visions of her floating in a crate of some kind. She saw visions of Oliver on a boat, crying for his dying father.

A cold breeze wrapped itself around her, and her body began to shake as she put the puzzle pieces together.

 She was Felicity Smoak! She had been right!

She clasped her tied hands and held them close to her chest as the realization hit her.

 She had been there on that boat— on the Gambit, and Malcolm Merlyn had been the one that put her there.

He was the masked man!

She didn't know why Malcolm Merlyn chose to put her on the Gambit. She didn't know what all of it meant for Oliver and her. From the looks of things they certainly seemed to have crossed paths five years ago, albeit not in the best of circumstances. But did that mean that was where their story was supposed to end or did that mean their destinies could have been different if that boat had never gotten into an accident? 

“Last time you put your nose into things you shouldn't have, and this time you tried to blackmail me. I can't let you get away with trying to do something like that now, can I?” He wrapped her hair around his free hand and stood up, pulling her up along with him from her hair.

Her hair clip slid off her hair and fell to the floor, and he crushed the clip with his heel as though to show her just how much he detested her.

“Let me go!” Her body still didn't seem as if it had recovered from the affect of the drug Malcolm had used. She felt dizzy and didn't feel as if she had the strength to stand on her own. Yet she still tried to wriggle away. She wasn't going to give up. 

“ You know too much, sweetheart. You know about the Earthquake Machine. You know what it can do. You know that I can destroy the whole city with it if I wanted to. So how can I let you go?”

His words triggered something in her brain again, and she started to remember bits and pieces of things that happened to Felicity Smoak – no, to _her_ five years ago. It was all about a pen drive. His secret plan to make an earthquake machine that could destroy cities and kill millions of people had been in that little red thing. And she had no doubt that he probably still planned to make the machine and use it cause carnage. 

She still had no clue how it had come to her hands. Nonetheless she was sure that it was what that had started everything.

“It's time to bid good bye again. But before that tell me who helped you. Was it Oliver? Were you both stranded on that island together? ” He turned them around and pushed her towards the bow of the boat. She clung to the railing, and watched as he point the gun at her.

"You won't believe me even if I told you!" She hissed.

"Oh well, I'll just have make sure whoever brought you back wouldn't be able to do that again this time."

She looked down feeling helpless and defeated, and her heart shaped locket dangling down her neck caught her eyes. It seemed to have some how crept out of her blouse during her struggles to escape. The mere sight of it gave her hope and made her believe Oliver would come for her. He would not fail her.

“Any last words?” She heard Malcolm step closer.

“You're not going to get away with this. All your sins will catch up to you one day.” She looked up and saw Malcolm glaring at her with his finger locked on the trigger of the gun.

“Good bye, Miss Smoak.” He slowly pulled on the trigger and just before she heard the it click and the bullet fire off, she heard Oliver call her name. Before she could even turn to his voice, he had pushed her out of the way of the bullet. 

With the sound of the gun shot still ringing in her ear, she fell to the floor with Oliver on top of her.

"Oliver!"

Not a moment too soon a large wave hit the boat, sweeping them both away to the side and knocking Malcolm Merlyn off his feet. A shot fired off as Malcolm's gun slipped from his hand, and fell to the floor.

It took Felicity a second to recover from the impact and look up at Oliver. His clothes were wet and water was dripping down his hair. "You swam all the way here?" She mumbled still caught in somewhat of a haze.

"Not all the way...." He smiled at her as he began to untie her. "Just a little to get to the boat without being noticed."

"Aw!" She cried feeling a searing pain on her forehead. Everything had happened within just a fraction of time that she hadn't realized she had gotten hurt somehow.

“You ok? I think you hit your head on the railing.” Oliver tentatively touched her aching forehead.

She gently put her hand where she felt the pain. “I think so',” she said, but she doubted the warm stream of blood that started to drip down her forehead to be a good sign.

“Aww! Isn't this such a sweet reunion at sea?" Malcolm got to his feet, picking his gun from the floor. "I'm glad You're here too. Now I can get rid of both of you at the same time. It's almost like it's fate.” he stepped closer to them with the gun pointed in their direction.

“Dig, take care of Felicity.” That's all Oliver had said as he launched himself towards Malcolm. She heard a shot being fired as they brawled, but she couldn't tell if Oliver managed to evade it or not.

“Oliver!” She tried to get up forgetting that her hands and feet were still tied.

“Felicity, stay low.” Diggle jumped into the boat and came running towards her.

 “You need to help him, Dig.” She pleaded, her eyes following Oliver across the deck as he faught Malcolm Merlyn.

 “I will. First let me move you to somewhere safe.” He untied her, and slowly pulled her behind the few shipping crates that had been lying off to the side of the bow of the boat.

 "Agh!" Oliver yelled in pain and collapsed to the floor.

“Oliver!” She tried to get up again, only to realize she had even less energy than she did a few minutes ago. Even though she wasn't bleeding a lot, the blood loss combined with the affect of the drug seemed to have made her weaker.

 “Stay here.” Diggle gave her a stern order before taking his gun out to join Oliver.

 She watched them fight from behind the crate, fearing for Oliver and Diggle's lives. She had seen them fight many times and fight against larger opponents, but Malcolm seemed to be able to evade Diggle's gun shots and Oliver's attacks with ease. He was fast and seemed to have the experience to anticipate their every move.

Nonetheless Oliver managed to kick his gun out of his hand. It slid towards the edge of the railing few yards away from where she was.

“Ah!” One of Merlyn's kicks managed to hit Diggle and he fell to the floor with a grunt. She could see that he was badly hurt and was struggling to get up. 

“Dig!” Despite the pain she tried to crawl towards him to see if he was all right.

“You and your girlfriend should have died five years ago.” Malcolm's vicious laugh made Felicity stop, and look his way. He was holding Oliver in a headlock from behind and he seemed to have gotten hold of one of Diggle's guns.

 "No! Let him go!" Her heart thud hard inside her chest fearing for his life. She realized she needed to something before Oliver got hurt, and her eyes immediately ran to Malcolm's gun. If she somehow managed to crawl at least a couple of feet she was sure she would be able to reach it.

“I'm not going to let you get away with what you did to Felicity.” Oliver elbowed him on the stomach, but that wasn't enough to make Malcolm release him. In fact, he seemed to have tighten his arm that was around Oliver's neck.

Gathering up every bit of energy she had left she dragged her aching body towards the gun. Hearing Oliver yell out as he attempted to get himself free egged her on to go get the gun quickly as possible.

As soon as it was in her reach, she grabbed it with both her hands and turned to where Oliver was.

He was still struggling to get himself lose from the head lock, but the way Malcolm was standing — with his back completely turned to her —she had a very clear shot him.

With shaky hands she pointed the gun at Malcolm's back.

She would do anything for Oliver, and all she wanted to do now was to shoot Malcolm somewhere that would provoke him drop the gun in his hands and to let Oliver go. But it wasn't so easy for her. She wasn't built that way. Moreover she hadn't really practiced with a gun. She didn't really have the best reputation when it came to shooting things and even though she was supposed to see better with her glasses, she now barely had the energy to focus long enough to get a good aim.

"No!" Yet when she heard Oliver cry out in pain again, she let go of all her doubts and pulled the trigger.

 She expected to hear a large bang, but she heard nothing. She didn't see a hint of a smoke leave the gun barrel. “No! No!” She manically checked the gun. It seemed it had been out of bullets all this time. "No!" She threw the gun aside once again feeling utterly helpless.  

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she watched Oliver do everything he could do to get Malcolm off his back.

“Oliver.” She found she no longer even had the strength to shout loudly enough to give him courage. She couldn't even keep her eyes opened. Her hand ran to her forehead feeling a sharp pain. She realized she was still bleeding, and the sight of blood on her hand made her dizzier. “Oliver, don't give up.” She muttered just before her eyes went shut. In a distance she was able to still hear him fight, hear him give his all to stay alive. Yet with every moment that passed she felt as if she was moving further and further away from him.

This was all her fault.

She shouldn't have been so stubborn about going to meet Malcolm Merlyn alone. She shouldn't have tried to convince Oliver to help her with any of this.

Guilt ate her up as she she drifted off thinking about what she could have done or not done to prevent all of this.

* * *

“ _Felicity?” Are you alright?" She remembered Oliver grabbing her her hand from behind and stopping her as she was about to go up the staircase to their room. She had just few minutes ago called him to let him know about the two men that she had once again seen following her and Thea to the Queen mansion. Unlike the first time around, this time she had been sure that they actually were following her, but she hadn't expected Oliver to come to running home to check on her. Especially not after the way she had left the foundry earlier._

“ _I'm fine, Oliver. Did you find out who they were?"_

“ _I had Diggle track them. They work for Malcolm.” He had replied, his eyes scanning her face as though to check if she had lied about feeling fine._

 “ _I had a feeling this had something to do with him.” If Malcolm Merlyn was somehow involved in Felicity Smoak's death she had figured that he would want to keep an eye on the woman who looked exactly like her._

“ _So do you still want to go meet him by yourself?" Oliver had asked very softly as if he was afraid to hear her answer._

 “ _I really believe this is what we have to do, but I know it would be stupid for me to go there without any back up. I've hung around the foundry long enough to understand how important it is. But it's so frustrating, Oliver. I barely have two weeks left and I feel like I have no control of anything. And... and I know this probably will sound kind of stupid because I know why you were saying no, but the way you kept saying you won't let me go there made me feel like I have no say at all with what happens at all.” She had confessed nervously biting on her lower lip._

“ _I'm sorry Felicity. If I made you feel like that. I didn't mean to … I just — " He had taken her hands and laced his fingers through hers. He stood almost admiring the way their hands fitted together for a moment before lifting his eyes to her again. “When you came into this world you didn't know much about how it works. You didn't know how cruel it could be and I felt that the world might take advantage of you... of your innocence, your kindness. So I always felt the need to keep you safe... to protect you and I still do...I always will. " He had stared at her as though making a silent promise, and she'd given him a little smile to let him know she understood him._

_"But I should have realized within these past few weeks you've come into your own. And I shouldn't have made you feel like that you have no say in what happens in your life.. I love you Felicity. I just want to see you happy.”_

 “ _I know. I think it's more about me wanting to have more control of my life than you not letting me do_ this _. Does that even make sense?” She had found it hard to express what exactly she was feeling, but she knew that Oliver was right. She wasn't the same angel that dropped from the sky almost three months ago. It wasn't just because she had now lived on Earth for more than two months and her experiences had changed her. There was something more to it. She just didn't know how to describe it, but she had a feeling it was somehow linked to the fact that she now knew she was probably Felicity Smoak._

 “ _I think I understand.” He had taken a hair clip out of his pocket and pinned it right behind her ear. “For the record I don't like this plan at all, but I know you need to do this to find out Malcolm's connection to Felicity Smoak... to you."_

_She had smiled realizing Oliver in his own way had just agreed to her plan. "Thank you, but what's this for?" She carefully touched the clip Oliver just pinned. The design on it felt very delicate and intricate between her fingers._

 “ _I got it from ARGUS.  You'll be able to hear me and I'll be able to hear what's going on while you're at Merlyn Global. I don't know how exactly it works, but apparently It's built in away that it doesn't have to be inside the ear for you to be able to hear through it. Just make sure, it's close to the back of your ear.” He explained pushing the pin little bit further to make sure it wouldn't fall off and she felt some type of a lock latch itself to the skin behind her ear.“Their security equipment won't be able to detect this or your locket, but if they stop working or if you lose contact with us for any reason, you turn back OK?”_

  _She hadn't liked the idea of turning back. She couldn't be sure if they'd get the opportunity again._

 “ _Felicity?”_

 “ _Ok, I will turn back.” She had agreed only at Oliver's prompting._

 “ _We'll go over a few questions Malcolm might ask you before you go there. He's apparently going out of the country for a couple of days for business. And we can use that time to prepare you for this. Also you have a habit of playing with your necklace when you're kind of nervous. That might accidentally draw too much attention to the locket. So it'd be better if you wear something to cover it up.”He had suggested taking the necklace into his palm._

“ _Ok.” She had nodded, thinking that the turtle neck blouse Thea had gotten for her few days ago probably would do the trick._

“ _Lyla said she'll help us hack into Merlyn's security cameras. So we'll be able to keep an eye on you when you're inside.”_

“ _Thank you, Oliver.” She had felt so grateful that he had arranged all of this in such a short time just to ensure her safety._

“ _I was struggling_ _to find myself, find my place in this world, and then you came along... you helped me realize who I could be. You helped me see that I can do lot more than just follow a list. It's only right that I help you find yourself too.” He had winked at her before placing sweet kiss on her lips. She had kissed back with her eyes closed, wishing for all their troubles to soon come to an end, wishing for a day that both of them could just kiss without worrying about running out of time._

 

* * *

“Felicity? Felicity! wake up!" She heard Oliver say amidst the sounds of horns honking in a busy street, and she opened her eyes eager to know if Oliver and Diggle both were all right.

"Oliver?" He was sitting beside her on what seemed like a back seat of a moving car, and she could scarcely make out Diggle in the driver's seat in front of her.  Last she remembered they were on a boat, and Oliver was trying to escape Malcolm's headlock while their friend Diggle struggled to get up after being kicked on the stomach by Malcolm. So she was now more than happy to see that they both had survived, and they were not on that boat anymore. 

"You ok?"

 She tried to reach out and touch his face, but the angle she was lying in didn't allow her to do so.

"Oliver, help me up."

He moved closer to her on the seat, and gently helped her sit.

"Where to, Oliver?" Diggle asked as the car neared a cross road.

"The foundry."  Oliver replied, his worried eyes focused only on her. "Are you alright, Felicity?" He ever so gently caressed her cheek as though he was afraid he would hurt her.

"I'm fine. But, are _you_  ?" Something didn't feel right about him. There was something in the tone of his voice that worried her. " What... what happened to Malcolm? Did he hurt you? Are you alright?” The Light coming in from the street outside played with the shadows on his face, making it hard for her to truly see him and know if everything was well with him.

"I'll be fine. But I'm worried about you. You hit your head." He took her hands in to one hand and carefully brushed her hair away with the other to examine the cut on her forehead. It wasn't as painful as before. She could feel the itchy feeling of dry blood around the cut and the side of her face. But, she still winced a little when his finger tips light grazed her forehead, and he quickly took his hand away. "Why didn't you turn back when you realized the com-link and the tracker stopped working? " 

"I'm sorry. I should have turned back. But I don't know... I felt like I had to do this. And when I realized it was a bad idea I was already inside the elevator, on my way up to his office."  She had been too worried about not getting another chance and worried about Oliver putting his life at risk once again for her, that she had thought that the best thing to do would be to go through with the plan. Moreover, she had thought Oliver could still keep an eye on her through the security cameras even if she couldn't communicate directly with him. Yet, after what had happened she regretted her decision to get into that elevator. Oliver and Diggle's lives were more important to her than the truth. She just hadn't thought the plan would go this awry. It wasn't supposed to. The tracker and the com-link wasn't supposed to malfunction. Malcolm wasn't supposed to have a secret exit in his office. The pen in his hand was only supposed to be a pen and hers was the only life that was supposed to be in jeopardy. 

"I could see you from the security cameras, but when the tracker and the com-link stopped working I realized Malcolm has been expecting you. I don't think he knew you had a tracker or a com-link on you, but I think he must have done something to disrupt the frequency just in case."

The thought that Malcolm may have been expecting her hadn't crossed her mind when the com-link stopped working. However, after he had told her that he knew that Oliver was the Hood, she realized it was possible that it wasn't just an accident. Once Oliver failed to get answers out of him, he had probably expected her to show up in his office, and had been well prepared for the situation. 

"I came into get you when I realized that you're not going to turn back on your own, but by the time I got past security Malcolm has already taken you away." 

She shivered thinking about everything that happened after that moment. He was going to kill her at sea  — for the second time, and she could have lost Oliver forever. 

"I thought I lost you, Felicity. I thought I'd never be able to see you again." Oliver cupped her cheek with his right hand, and she instantly leaned into his touch, resting her hand over his.

"I'm so sorry." 

"But, you were right. We wouldn't have never gotten anything out of him, if you hadn't done this. It would have been too late." He caught the heart shaped tracker with his free hand, and looked up at her. "I'm just glad this started working again after he got out of the car near the dock." 

Her eyes fell to the locket. She had always loved it. It was the first gift Oliver ever gave her and even if those days he had given it for whole other set of reasons, she wanted to believe that there was a reason he had chosen a heart shaped pendant specifically when he could have probably gotten the tracker made in any other shape. 

"And it's over now. You're here. With me. You're Safe. And Malcolm Merlyn can't hurt you anymore." He pulled her into a hug, and she clung on to him tightly with tears welled up in her eyes. She thought back to what happened in that boat and how she too had thought she was going to lose him as he watched Malcolm tighten his arm around his neck. She wondered what happened in the end, what happened to Malcolm, and how Oliver managed to escape. 

"Oliver..." She couldn't bring herself to ask. She was afraid to find out if he had killed his best friend's father because of her. She understood the circumstances he was in and how little of a choice he may have had, but she felt awful that she put him in such a position where he probably had to make that kind of a choice. 

"Sh.. sh.. It's not your fault." He whispered as if he knew what she was thinking. "It would have come to this eventually. He was the kind of man the Hood usually went after." He knew exactly what to say to calm her.  But his words made her wonder how much Oliver had heard of their conversation, if the communication link somehow had been working when Malcolm started to confess about what he did to her, and if he had heard Malcolm's confession about the Earthquake machine. Her memory of it was so scrambled and chaotic, she couldn't make out if Malcolm had crushed her hair clip before after his confession.

Either way she had learned so many things within the last few hours — about herself and her death during the last few hours, but she hadn't really processed anything much herself to bring up the topic right then. 

"What's wrong? Why are you so quiet?" He tried to shift closer to her, but he paused and made a grumbling sound as if he was in pain.

“Oliver?” She pulled away a little and grabbed his hands. They felt cold to the touch."Oliver, are you alright?" Her stomach knotted up as she tried to figure out what was wrong with him. 

 “It's nothing.” He shook his head, and kissed her cheek in attempt to calm her. 

The car slowed down in traffic, right under a bight street light and she gasped noticing the growing blood stain on his left shoulder that the dark green leather of his hoodie had kept hidden from her all this time. "You're bleeding! Were you shot? He shot you?" 

"No ... it's...it's nothing. I couldn't get him off of me... ...I had to.... I stabbed him on the chest by stabbing an Arrow through my shoulder. But I'll be alight. Diggle will take care of it." As the car started to move again, he put his right had around her and sunk back into the seat. The grunt that escaped him when his shoulder touched the back of his seat made her even more restless.

“It's not nothing, Oliver! An Arrow went through your shoulder, very close to your chest!! you don't look alright. We need to go to a hospital.” 

His face seemed to lose its color with every second that passed. 

“Diggle will take care of it when we get back to the foundry." She could see that his eye lids were starting to close, and he was struggling to keep his head straight as he spoke to her. 

 “Oliver, I think you've lost too much blood!” She was worried that the facilities available in the foundry were not enough to treat him. Oliver had been injured many times, but tonight he seemed to be in a very bad condition. She could just feel that something was going to go wrong if they took him to the foundry instead of the hospital.

 “I'll  be alright Felicity. And I'm really glad you're ok. And everything is back to normal. I just need a little rest.” He muttered dazedly as his eyes completely closed, and his head fell to her shoulder. 

 “Oliver..." She put a hand on his cheek and tried to wake him up,  but he didn't open his eyes. He simply mumbled something incoherently as he rested his weight completely on her.

 “Dig, we need to take him to a hospital.”

Digle looked over at them from the rear view mirror, and took a moment to answer her. "Ok. His normal clothes are in the back. we'll change his hoodie before we get there."

"Oliver! wake up!" She tried to wake him up, but he wasn't even moving. She couldn't help but worry if this was Cupid's way of punishing her for tampering with fate, for agreeing to marry him when she was supposed to fix things between Lauerl and him. She couldn't help but worry that her decision to stay and marry Oliver had somehow caused a butterfly effect, and that was the reason why Oliver was in this state now.

Had she changed the course of his destiny too much?

She held onto him tightly and prayed silently for it to not be true. 


	28. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy. <3  
> This one is for Mare ;) and Kylie   
> And also to heidi2310

**chapter 27**

The continuous beeping noise of the heart monitor had an odd calming affect on Felicity as she sat by Oliver's bedside, her hand atop his. She figured it was because it let her know his heart was still beating, and he was still alive. Nonetheless, it didn't stop her from checking the rise and fall of his chest every other second to see if he was still breathing.

His condition wasn't as bad as before, but when they had brought him to the hospital he had been in a very critical condition. His heart rate had been weak, and his whole body had turned ice cold and almost lifeless.

She barely remembered how they had even managed to arrive at the hospital, or what lies they had told the doctors to explain Oliver's bullet wound. But she could remember completely breaking down in Diggle's arms when they had rolled Oliver into the emergency room on a stretcher, and then briefed her on the severity of his state.

Diggle had kept reminding her that Oliver was a fighter, a man who had defy death many times, but even though she didn't disagree, and she knew how strong Oliver was —  mentally and physically — there had been just something about the night that made her fear the worst. 

In fact, the fear was still there. It still lingered. It still bothered her. 

She entwined her fingers with his. 

This shouldn't be new to her. This wasn't the first time Oliver had been hurt. He'd been putting his life at risk as long as she'd known him. And It had always been hard for her to see him in pain. She had always feared for his life whenever he would be out in the field chasing some crook, but she couldn't remember feeling this helpless.

"Oliver, I love you. I'll be really angry if you don't wake up soon." She cried quietly, kissing the back of his hand.

When she had fallen down to Earth, she hadn't even thought of falling in love, hadn't in fact known if she was even capable of falling in love. Then when she had first realized she was in love with Oliver, she hadn't even known how deep she could love. She hadn't known that the love she felt for Oliver could grow even deeper, but it had. So much so that she was certain she would lose her mind if she were to lose him.

“Please wake up.” She whispered, leaning closer and running a hand through his hair. She missed hearing his voice. She missed his smile. She felt as if she hadn't heard him say her name for an eternity when it had barely been six hours since he'd gotten shot.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver." The knowledge that she was the reason behind Oliver's suffering tore her up every moment she spent sitting beside him.

She felt Oliver wouldn't be in the situation he was in if it weren't for her stubborn and selfish need to find about her past. She felt Oliver wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed attached to a ventilator machine, if they hadn't tried to defy destiny, if _she_ hadn't fallen in love.

 This was all her fault.

 “ _Here's your coffee, Mr. Diggle. Is Felicity still awake?”_

  _Felicity's_ attention drifted towards the door at Thea's voice. She heard Diggle say something in response, but her mind couldn't truly register what he was saying. For a few seconds she just sat there, mindlessly staring at the way their shadows moved across the little gap left between the door and the floor.

Diggle had been standing guard outside from the moment they had shifted Oliver from the ER to the room they were in now. He had offered to stay by Oliver's bedside for a while so that she could go home and have a few hours of sleep, but she hadn't wanted to leave. She couldn't. 

But at Moira's strong insistence, she had gotten the scrape on her head checked out, and had changed into something more comfortable. Thankfully, Moira had understood Felicity's state of mind and had made sure that she wouldn't have to leave Oliver's room to get either of those things done.

“Hey, I brought you a hot chocolate,” Thea said softly as she stepped into the room.

 “Thank you.” Felicity carefully grabbed the cup from Thea's hand, and took a little sip from it before putting it away. She just didn't have an appetite for anything. 

“Felicity, Mr. Diggle told me that you haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday.” Thea leaned closer to Felicity's chair and draped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her into a side hug. 

It was past midnight now, but she didn't feel hungry. Honestly, she didn't feel anything much other than the dread of losing Oliver that rumbled in the pit of her stomach.  “Thea … I'm …” She didn't want to admit her fears out loud. She was afraid that if she put that thought out into the world it would actually come true.

“He'll be all right, Felicity. He has to be. My brother won't leave me for a second time.” Thea sounded as broken as she felt, but she forced a smile.

Felicity could tell that she was trying to be brave, trying to put up a front so that others wouldn't worry. 

“Yeah. He won't.” Felicity wanted to believe in those words herself — so very badly, but that nagging feeling in her stomach still wouldn't let her. But she couldn't tell Thea that. She couldn't be so selfish. How could she tell a sister who had already lost her brother once that she had this strange feeling that she might lose her brother again? She knew that was not what Thea needed to hear right now. 

“Mom is talking to the doctors again. She'll make sure they do everything they can to save Ollie.” Thea suddenly burst into tears, no longer able to keep up the facade.

“Oh, Thea.” Felicity got to her feet and tugged the younger Queen into a hug. 

“I tried Felicity. I tried to be stronger... For you. For mom. For Ollie. But I can't. I can't anymore. I thought he'd be awake by now. But he's not.”

“You don't have to, Thea.” She let her own tears fall freely as Thea cried on her shoulder.

“You both all right?” Felicity felt Moira's hand on her back. She'd always been a little nervous around the Queen Matriarch —  despite the fact that she'd now welcomed her into the Queen family, but tonight Moira's hand on her back comforted her somewhat, gave her a bit of reassurance.

“Not really.” Felicity slowly broke away from the hug to look at Oliver, still keeping a firm hold on Thea's hand as she did.

“You both should go home. Rest for a few hours and then come back.” Moira said, as she gently patted her back.

“But— “ Felicity was about to protest, but the heart monitor started to go berserk before she could. “What's going on? What's wrong with him? Oliver!” She grabbed a hold of Oliver's hand not knowing what else to do.

Doctors and nurses came rushing in, and someone began to pull her away from Oliver. “No!” She cried when Oliver's hand slowly slipped away from hers. “What's going on?!”

No one answered her. She turned to Moira and Thea for an explanation, but they were already being escorted out of the room by one of the nurses. 

"No! No! Someone tell me what's going on!"

The nurse that was trying pull her away was telling her something, but she couldn't really hear her. Her brain couldn't process it. All she could hear was the erratic beeping sounds of the heart monitor and a doctor yelling, “We're losing him!”

Feeling light headed and lost she looked for something or someone to hold onto for support. “Please save him! You have to!” Her hands and feet turned cold as she watched Oliver struggle to breathe.

The beeping sound came to a sudden halt, and Felicity's hand went to her chest feeling as if it was her own heart that had stopped beating. "No!” With teary eyes she watched the doctors try to revive him. 

They kept pressing two paddles on his chest, but it didn't seem to be helping him much. The electric current produced by the paddles only managed to revive his heart temporarily.

"No! No!" Someone dragged her further away from the scene, and as much as she wanted to resist the pull, she realized she didn't have the strength to.

"Clear!" The doctor pressed the paddles on his chest, once again to no avail. The line on the heart monitor remained flat. The defeated looks on their faces gave away what they were thinking.

"No!" This was her fault. If only she had done what she was supposed to do, if only she hadn't fallen in love, if only she hadn't been so stubborn this wouldn't have happened. Oliver would have been able to lead the life he was destined for if it weren't for her.

Everything that happened, everything that was happening right now somehow had her convinced that this was Cupid's way of punishing her, punishing them for falling in love.

 _But it wasn't Oliver's fault,_ she mumbled to herself. He didn't deserve to be punished. _She_ should have known better. It was _her_ job to bring him and his soulmate together. She was the one who failed. She was the one who changed everything.

And now Oliver was the one paying the price for it. Thea was the one losing a brother, Moira was the one losing her son, Diggle was the one losing a friend, and Starling was losing a much needed hero because of her. 

She instinctively closed her eyes and silently prayed to Cupid. She asked him to bring Oliver back to life and promised that in return she would leave Earth just as she was supposed to. She promised that she wouldn't try to go against destiny, that she would respect whatever fate that was written for Oliver and let him find his way back to Laurel. 

That was all she could do to help save him. 

"Clear!" 

Her eyes snapped open when she heard the heart monitor start beeping shortly after.

She let out a sigh.

His heart was beating again. He was breathing again. 

Maybe Cupid had heard her request, or maybe it was a pure coincidence, and Cupid had nothing to do with anything that happened. Still she couldn't rule out the possibility.  Cupid was capable of performing such miracles.

So however much she wanted to, she couldn't really forget about her prayer, her promise.

She would have to go now. She would have to leave him. 

“Felicity?” Oliver muttered, his voice muffled by the ventilator mask.

“Oliver...”

His eyes were still closed, but his eye lids were fluttering as though he was dreaming. She wanted to run to him, and hold his hand, but her legs felt too numb to move.

“Felicity, are you OK?” She heard someone ask, and she turned around to see who it was, but the face was a blur. Her eyes seemed to have lost focus.

She turned to Oliver again, but before she could do anything else her body went limp. She suddenly collapsed, her eyes closing on impact as her head hit the cold tiled floor.

"Felicity.." She heard him mumble her name once again, amidst the sounds of footsteps that came running towards her to help her.

She slowly lifted her head, and forced her eyes open. She managed to retain her focus long enough to get one last glimpse of Oliver's tired face, before she lost consciousness. 

* * *

“Oliver!” Felicity sat up with a gasp and looked around. She was in a different hospital room than before, and there was an IV drip attached to her arm. There was no one there, except for the middle-aged female doctor who caught her hand and stopped her from pulling the IV off.  

“Oliver is alright. You were unconsciousness so we had to bring you here.” The doctor's tone was gentle, but it didn't calm her. She was restless to see Oliver. She had to see if he was all right with her own eyes. "I'm Dr. Roberts by the way. Moira is actually an old friend of mine. She specifically requested that I attend to you. What I mean to say is that don't be afraid. You can trust me." 

“But I need to go. I need to see him.” That was all that she could think of. That was all she wanted to do. 

“You will. In a little while. You've been unconsciousness for a few hours now.... we believe, it's because on top of losing blood from the cut on your forehead, you apparently haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday. But we still need to do a few more tests to confirm that it is in fact the case.” The doctor said as she handed her a glass of water and some pills. "Take these. It will help you."

Felicity just swallowed the pills and gulped the water down just because she wanted to get out of that room quickly and go look for Oliver. “Please, I need to go see him now. I'll come back and do the tests later.” 

The doctor went over some reports and looked up at her. "I can understand your desperation to see your fiancé... But you'll have to fill this form out first.” The doctor turned around and got a clipboard and a pen from the table behind her. “After you're done. I'll call your bodyguard. He's waiting outside.”

Felicity nodded and started filling the form as fast as she could. She didn't know what it was for, she just wanted to fill it and get it over with so that she could leave.

But when she was about to give the form back to the doctor, she noticed how she'd written her age, name and signed the form. She'd written and signed her name as Felicity M. Smoak, and written her age as twenty-four without even giving it a second thought, without any hesitation. It felt as if she had always had those facts stored in the back of her mind all this time, but now that she knew for sure who she was that information seemed easily accessible, and easy to accept. 

However the thought that she, Felicity Smoak was supposed to be dead gnawed at her.

A tear escaped her eye and slowly rolled down her cheek as Images of her last day on Earth as Felicity Smoak began to play in her head. 

She remembered Oliver being there -- out of her reach, but he was still there. Even if they were supposed to be mere strangers back then, she remembered feeling his pain, she remembered fearing for his life. That confused her. How could she have felt something, that kind of a connection towards someone she didn't know? It brought up questions about destiny, and soul mates which she didn't have answers for.

“Are you ok?” Dr. Roberts asked.

“Hmm... yeah... I'm ok.” Felicity quickly wiped the tear away and handed the form over to the doctor. 

"Thank you, Miss ... Smoak." Dr. Roberts read her last name off the form and then proceeded to take the IV off. 

"Thanks." Felicity stepped down from the bed. A shiver went up her spine when her bare feet touched the carpet beneath. So she swiftly slipped her feet into the slippers that laid next to the bed.

“Your clothes are over there. “ The doctor pointed at the shelf behind her as she wrote something on her notepad

It was then Felicity looked at her state of dressing. Not only had she been barefoot, she was also in a hospital gown. But she didn't want to waste time changing clothes. “I... I have to go. “ She simply pushed the door open, and walked out of the room, ignoring whatever the doctor was yelling behind her.

She felt a bit dizzy, weak and bewildered, but she didn't want to stop.

“Felicity? They told us you probably won't be waking up for a while." Diggle grabbed her by her forearm and stopped her just as she exited.

"John, where's Oliver?" 

"He is OK now, but he kept asking for you, and well... you know him... he was kind of being difficult and the hospital staff wasn't able to control him. So Thea and Mrs. Queen both had to go there few minutes ago to convince him that you're all right. I think he's fallen back asleep now.“ 

Her heart clenched hearing that he was as desperate to see her as she was to see him. 

“Felicity, are you sure you're Ok to walk?"

"I have to see him, Dig."

"Maybe you should put some clothes on first? He'd probably worry if he sees you like this."

"No! I need to see him now." She shrugged his hand away and moved forward.

However there were too many corridors and doors. She didn't know which way she should go. 

“I doubt you'll find him in the maternity ward.” Diggle turned her around before she entered the corridor on her left. "This way, Felicity." He guided her towards Oliver's room.

The corridors felt too long as they walked, but she never slowed down.

However, when they reached Oliver's room, the familiar soft voice that came from inside the room made her stop right in front of the door.

It was Laurel. It was her voice. Oliver's actual soul mate was there. She must have come running over when she'd gotten the news that Oliver was in the hospital.

No matter what happened between Oliver and herself, it could never erase the fact that Laurel and Oliver were soul mates. They would always share that bond -- a kind of bond Felicity probably would never be able to have with Oliver.

The realization once again reminded her of the silent promise she made in that very room as she watched Oliver take his last breath.

She had to leave, and she had to let Oliver and Laurel find their way back into love. She had promised she would. 

"Ollie, I thought we lost you again." She heard Laurel say and wanted to leave right then. Leave the soulmates be, and let destiny play out, let everything return to the way it was supposed to be.

But she just couldn't. She wasn't ready to take that step yet. Her heart wasn't ready.

So she slowly pushed the door open, just a crack, and peeked inside.

Oliver was asleep in his bed. The respirator mask had been taken off, but the heart monitor was still on. Moira and Thea were standing by his bedside and Laurel... she was sitting on the edge of the mattress, with her hand on Oliver's cheek. 

Before she came along, before she fell from the sky, these three women probably would have been the most important women in his life, and she changed it. She'd taken the place that was reserved to Laurel.

She shouldn't have. 

“Felicity, what's wrong?” Diggle asked as she stepped away from the door.

"I don't belong here."

"Felicity?" 

"All of this, is my fault." She muttered thinking about why she was sent there, thinking about how Oliver had gotten shot, thinking about what she had to do to make things right again.

"What's gotten into you? Does this have anything to do with whatever you found out about Felicity Smoak?" Diggle's question stopped her from moving further back.

Should the fact that she was Felicity Smoak change anything?

No! It only showed her how she wasn't suppose to be in his life. She should be dead.

"You need to tell Oliver everything. He will help you. He will do whatever it takes to keep you here." 

That was one other thing she feared would happen. Olive risking his life, and fighting Cupid to keep her on Earth. No! No! She wouldn't let it happen. "I shouldn't be here, Dig." There were so many reasons why she shouldn't be there, why she shouldn't be in Oliver's life. 

The door flew opened and Laurel stepped out of the room. "Oh... Felicity..." She seemed surprised to find her there. "Ollie... he's... he's awake and he's asking for you." There were tears, pain, anger and a hint of jealousy in her eyes. 

Laurel clearly still loved Oliver. She could see it.

It must have hurt her to hear her soul mate ask for another woman when she was right there. It wasn't hard for Felicity to imagine her pain. She knew how heart broken she would have been if Oliver had called out for Laurel while she sat by his bed side.

"I should go. I have ... I have to do some research for a case." She watched as Laurel walked past her and disappeared around the corner. 

 _"Oh Venus! What have I done? What kind of a sin have I committed by tearing these soul mates apart? No wonder I was being punished,"_ She thought to herself

"Felicity?" Oliver's voice made her forget all the reasons why she shouldn't be there and she walked into the room. But she stopped as soon as she saw him in that same bed where he almost died. 

"You OK, Felicity?" Diggle asked softly as he placed himself beside her.

"Felicity?" Oliver's voice was groggy, but hearing him say her name still sent butterflies flying through her belly.

"Why are you standing there, Felicity? " Moira narrowed her eyes at her.

"Come're." That was all Oliver had needed to say, and she'd gone running into his arms -- all her worries about soul mates and what not long forgotten.

She showered his face with butterfly kisses, and she didn't miss the way the beeping sound of the heart monitor sped up a little with each kiss. "Are you ok?" she asked, worried.

"I'm ok. You just kind of have that affect on me." He flashed her a smile, his eyes sparkling blue despite the obvious tiredness on his face.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again Oliver Jonas Queen. You're not allowed to get sick or shot ever again." Felicity whispered resting her forehead against hers. 

"I'll try."

He chuckled, when she glared at his answer.

"Oh get a room." Thea mumbled while Diggle cleared his throat in the background..

"Thea!" Moira warned.

Oliver rolled his eyes at his sister and friend, and then cast his eyes on Felicity again. "why are you wearing a hospital gown? Are you ok?" His heart rate was going up again. 

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Felicity?" It was his turn to glare at her.

"She lost a bit of blood. She is Ok now, Oliver." Moira ensured.

"You're not allowed to get hurt either, ok?" Oliver took Felicity's hand, and kissed the back of it. His eyes the fell upon her ring finger, and he ran his thumb over where the engagement ring should be. "Where's your ring? And Your pendant?" he asked, his index finger tracing over her collar bone, lingering a second longer on that sensitive spot where the pendant usually lay.

"I... I don't know." Panic took over. She'd been so worried about Oliver she hadn't even noticed they were missing.

"Oh... the nurse took it off earlier. Here you go." Thea took the ring and the necklace out of her pocket and gave it to Felicity.

"Thea, I'm going to talk to the doctor... " It was obvious that Moira Queen was just trying to give them a moment alone.

"Oh? Yeah OK. I guess I'll go too. We'll see you guys in a bit." Thea took the hint. She kissed both Oliver and Felicity on the cheek and followed her mother out of the room. 

"You kids behave." Diggle warned with a smile before he too exited the room.

As soon as the door closed, Oliver pulled her closer by her arm and laid a soft kiss on her lips. His lips were dry and chapped, but it didn't matter to her. It still sent that familiar jolt of electricity up her spine. "How dare she take these off of you?" He took the ring, and slipped it on her finger. He then tried to put the necklace on her, but he struggled to lift his arm that high. 

"let me..." She put the necklace on herself. "I can still remember the day you gave this to me." She had been so happy to receive it.

"I was a jerk. I shouldn't have tricked you into wearing it." He confessed as he flipped the pendant around so that it was facing the right way up. 

"I understood why you did it, Oliver. You didn't trust me back then. But it motivated me. I promised myself that I'd somehow gain your trust." She had wanted him to one day gift her something that signified his trust, but she'd gotten more than that. He'd given her his love, and given her a ring that symbolized that love. 

"And you have. Now I've come to trust you, your judgement, your heart more than I trust myself." He placed a kiss on her hand, right over her ring.

Those words rung in her ears. Thinking back to the promise she'd made to cupid, she felt as if she was about to betray his trust soon. She was going to break his heart soon.

"Felicity..." He patted on the empty spot on the bed, inviting her to lie beside him.

She thought over it for a moment. The bed wasn't that big and Oliver was still healing. "I don't want to hurt you." 

"You could never hurt me, Felicity."

 He was wrong. She was going to hurt him. Not by choice, but because in her desperation to save his life she had made an unbreakable promise.

Before it was only her fate that had hung on the balance. She was the one who would have had to live an eternity as an elf if she hadn't fulfilled her angel duties, and hadn't left Earth, but now Oliver's life too depended on it.

Maybe it was silly for her to think that it was her prayer that brought Oliver back to life, but she couldn't take the risk and break her promise.  

"Felicity, I really really missed my fiancee." 

They'd been apart barely for a day and he was already missing her.

Would he be able to live without her if she were to leave? Would she be able to exist without him?

But she figured he would probably forget her once he fell in love with Laurel again. He would probably forget about the angel who he once loved, the angel that left him, the angel that hurt him. He would probably forget it all with time.

She was sure Cupid would assign another one of his angels to clean up her mess, and bring Oliver and Laurel together.

"Felicity..." He pouted and she found herself unable to defy him. She climbed onto the bed, and carefully lay down next to him.

He put his arm around her, and laid a kiss on her head. " I love you Felicity." He whispered into her hair.

"I love you too Oliver." She closed her eyes, but kept an ear on the heart monitor.

He was ok. He was well. He was alive.

Her mind ran back to those chaotic few seconds in which Oliver had almost died and she'd prayed to cupid to save him.

At that moment she hadn't even thought how hard it was going to be for her to keep her promise, but now she felt as if she had made a deal with the devil than a promise to Cupid. 

"Felicity, you didn't tell me what you learned about Felicity Smoak. Did you remember anything? It probably would be helpful to -- ."

"Shh. Oliver... rest now... we can talk about that tomorrow."

Whatever she found out didn't even matter anymore.  She would be leaving now in any case. She had to. She would have to go back no matter who she was. Whether she was Felicity Gilbert, Felicity Smoak or Felicity Queen, she would have to say goodbye to Oliver now. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know your thoughts...


End file.
